China urges IMF reform implementation

A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday that China expects timely and effective implementation of the 2010 quota and governance reform package of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Speaking at a daily press briefing, Hua Chunying's comments came after the U.S. Senate on Monday rebuffed a request by the Obama administration to approve a permanent increase in U.S. funding to the IMF. Last week, a provision to complete the IMF reforms was not inserted in the continuing resolution passed by the House. The IMF's Board of Governors approved a quota and governance reform package on Dec. 15, 2010. It included a doubling of IMF quotas and a shift in quotas to dynamic emerging markets and under-represented countries, and proposed reform to the executive board that would facilitate a move to a more representative and all-elected executive board. The IMF previously had intended to make the 2010 reform package effective before the 2012 Annual Meetings in October 2012, but the legislatures of some important IMF members including the United States, the IMF's largest shareholder, have not given the green light to the reform package.