Global Reaction

China says new IMF chief selection should be fair

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-20 07:34

China said on Thursday that the new IMF leader should be chosen on "merit, transparency and fairness".

"We have all along believed that the IMF should continue to reform its structure and governance," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular news briefing. "In principle, we believe that emerging and developing countries should have representation at senior levels."

Chinese experts echoed her view.

Zhao Xijun, deputy director of the Financial and Securities Institute at Renmin University of China, told China Daily that there are a number of qualified candidates for the position from different countries, including China.

The tradition (that a European heads the IMF) "is no longer suitable" to reflect the changing international economic landscape and the rise of emerging economies, Zhao said.

"The voting mechanism (for the IMF leadership) should facilitate its reform."

Central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan, considered by some analysts as a candidate for the IMF post, also said that the "composition of the IMF's senior executives should better reflect changes in the world economy to represent emerging markets".

He said that the G20 has decided that leaders and senior managers of international financial institutions should be elected through an open, merit-based and transparent process.

"This means that merit, capability, diligence, and achievements should be taken into full account, resulting in more effective leadership."

But Li Wei, an economist at the Standard Chartered Bank in China, said a European leading the IMF will make it easier to "help clinch a deal on the sovereign debt crisis in Europe".

Wang Xiaotian in Beijing contributed to this story.