The story appears on

Page A15

June 9, 2011

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Business » Economy

IMF candidate in Beijing visit

FRENCH Finance Minister Christine Lagarde yesterday tried to drum up support in China for her bid to head the International Monetary Fund after a stop in India failed to produce a public endorsement for her candidacy.

Lagarde already has the backing of Britain, Germany and other European nations, but is now courting China and other developing nations that have been pushing for a bigger say in the running of the IMF and the World Bank to reflect their growing economic clout.

They have called for an end to the convention that the head of the Washington-based IMF be from Europe, but have not come together with a common candidate. In India on Tuesday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee would say only that the IMF managing director should be chosen on merit, not nationality.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan met Lagarde in Beijing yesterday. Lagarde said she wanted to introduce her bid for the top job at the IMF.

"I am here not to officially ask for China's backing, but I hope to introduce my bid," she said at the beginning of the meeting, adding: "China is very important for the IMF."

Lagarde said she highly valued an open, transparent and merit-based process that needs to be abided by during the selection for the position.

Lagarde also held talks with China's central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan and Finance Minister Xie Xuren.





 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend