China wants more say in the international financial system to match its economic prowess. This is what China’s central bank chief Pan Gongsheng said at the Boao Forum for Asia.
He urged immediate reforms of global institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which he said needed to mirror the current economic weight that countries carry, South China Morning Post reported.
The comment comes a day after IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, who is on a visit to China, discussed IMF quota reforms with Gongsheng .
During her visit, she said that Beijing had two choices right now to tackle the economic situation and that includes a return to its economic policies, or choose reforms to spur growth.
“China is poised to face a fork in the road — rely on the policies that have worked in the past, or update its policies for a new era of high-quality growth,” Georgieva was quoted as saying.
Traditionally, every IMF member country has a quota, which is based on its position in the world economy, which determines its contributions to the fund.
Currently Beijing holds 6.09% voting power in the Washington-based fund, lower than half of 16.5% held by the United States. This gives Washington the right to veto any move it wants to.
In December, the funding organisation concluded its review on reforms, but no announcement has been made so far.
The central bank chief, while addressing counterparts from Indonesia, Singapore and Mongolia said that the new reforms should up quota rearrangements , including a new formula, to reflect the weight of Asian countries and emerging markets.
Last year , the IMF head in an interview with Financial Times backed more voting power for Beijing and called on the institution to better represent changes in the global economy over the past decade.
“There is a need to constantly change to reflect how the world economy is changing,” she said.
