Feb. 25 – As a reflection of the country’s growing clout in global finance, China’s central bank governor was appointed to its highest-ever staff position in the International Monetary Fund.
The move indicates an organizational shift to give emerging nations a more active role in running the world economy. China’s central bank governor Zhu Min was appointed as special advisor to IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn yesterday. The position is the highest rank given to a Chinese citizen in the organization so far.
Prior to the IMF appointment, Zhu worked as a senior executive of the Bank of China before heading the central bank. He also worked in the World Bank as an economist and holds an economics doctorate degree from Johns Hopkins University. He was an economics teacher at John Hopkins University and Fudan University.
“I would say that China welcomes Mr. Zhu’s appointment, which we hope will help strengthen cooperation between the emerging economies, including those in Asia, and the IMF, contributing to sustained growth of world economy and international financial stability,” Chinese embassy spokesman Wang Baodong told AFP.
The IMF plans to gradually allocate more voting power to emerging market and developing countries as part of its reforms after the global financial crisis. For example, China has 3.72 percent of the vote compared to France with 4.94 percent even though its economy is much larger.
The organization was formed after World War II to stabilize global economy and improve overall stability. From 45 member countries it now has 186 including developing countries and former Soviet states. With economic growth moving to the Asian region, the IMF will need to learn to adjust with the changing economic climate to remain relevant.
