The International Monetary Fund's quota and voice reform should
reflect the relative position of its members in the world economy,
a senior Chinese official stressed in Washington on Monday.
That means "the reform should aim at significantly raising the
overall quota shares of developing countries, particularly emerging
market economies, and strengthening the voice of the low income
countries in the Fund," Li Yong, China's vice finance minister,
said at the World Bank/IMF annual meeting.
Meanwhile, the voice and participation of the developing and
transition countries in the decision-making process of the World
Bank should be strengthened, he said.
The increasing contribution of the developing countries to the
world economic growth should be duly reflected in the voice and
representation in the decision-making of the two international
institutions, Li pointed out.
The vice minister also said that the two institutions should
sharpen their comparative advantages of global nature and guide the
economic globalization towards the right direction.
They should promote effective participation of the developing
countries in the setting of the international economic rules,
facilitate orderly flows of capital, technology and labor, reform
the international monetary and financial regimes, support
South-South cooperation and regional cooperation so as to create a
stable and development friendly global economic environment, he
said.
At the same time, Li stressed that the Fund should enhance its
surveillance over countries issuing major reserve currencies so as
to play an effective role in promoting financial stability and
economic prosperity.
"We regret that the Fund adopted in June the Decision on
Bilateral Surveillance over Members' Policies in the absence of
consensus among its members," he said.
The Fund should adhere to its consensus-based approach in
adopting major resolutions, said the vice minister.
"We also believe that the Fund's exchange rate surveillance
should focus on whether a member country's exchange rate regime is
consistent with its medium term macroeconomic policies, rather than
on the level of the exchange rate," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2007)
