Staff work on a railway track in Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin Province. Photo: CFP

The IMF has again called for the US to ratify the long-delayed quota and governance reforms agreed in 2010, which would give emerging economies more voting power in the global financial institution. 

The IMF's call came on the heels of a number of European countries including the UK, France, Germany and Italy deciding to sign up to a China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), enhancing the bank's global representation.

"Regarding the IMF quota and governance reform, ratification of the 2010 reforms remains the highest priority for the IMF and is critical to the Fund's credibility, legitimacy, and effectiveness, and to ensure it has sufficient permanent resources to meet members' needs," an IMF spokesman in Washington said in an e-mail sent to the Global Times on Wednesday (Beijing Time).

"We continue to urge countries that have not ratified the 2010 reforms, including the US authorities, to do so as soon as possible," the spokesman said in the e-mail.

The quota reform plan passed by the IMF's Executive Board in 2010 seeks to give China and other emerging economies such as Russia, Brazil and India a bigger say at the IMF.

China could see its voting share at the IMF raised to 6.39 percent from 3.81 percent if the plan is implemented.

But completion of the plan requires approval from the IMF's member countries, especially the US, which has the largest voting share at 16.75 percent. The US has so far delayed its decision.

On Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew urged the US Congress to ratify the plan and warned of the risk of dilution of the US' preeminent role in global financial institutions, especially as other countries are establishing new and parallel financial bodies.    

The AIIB is important, as there are vast needs in Asia and many parts of the world for infrastructure investment, but the US concern is whether the bank will adhere to the high standards that international financial institutions have developed, Lew was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying.

The AIIB was launched in October 2014 by China with an initial subscribed capital of $50 billion.

On Tuesday, France, Germany and Italy announced their decision to join the bank following the UK last week, which is set to raise the number of its founding members to 31.

South Korea has yet to make a decision on whether to join the bank, the Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday, citing An Chong-bum, the senior presidential secretary for economic affairs.  

Hong Lei, spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said at a press briefing Wednesday that China aims to ensure high standards for the bank's governance structure and operation policy.

Hong also said that foreign ministers of China, South Korea, and Japan are likely to discuss the AIIB at a meeting to be held in Seoul later this week. 

"Establishment of the AIIB is not a threat to the existing international financial institutions," He Weiwen, co-director of the China-US-EU Study Center at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times Wednesday.

"More European countries joining the bank means they can bring their rich experience in project investment and management and also put pressure on the AIIB to improve governance and operation transparency," He said.

"We very much hope we can play a constructive role, not just in bringing our experience of infrastructure investment but also in helping to shape the AIIB in its founding moment," UK Ambassador to China Barbara Woodward said at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

"The total annual lending by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and AIIB is still short of the huge infrastructure need in Asia, which according to an ADB report requires $8 trillion between 2010 and 2020," Zhou Shijian, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Sino-US Relations at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times Wednesday.

"So rather than competing with existing international financial institutions, the AIIB is an effective supplement," Zhou said.
"We welcome all initiatives that seek to strengthen the network of multilateral lending institutions and increase the available financing for infrastructure and development, including the newly created Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank," the IMF spokesman said in the e-mail sent to the Global Times. 

Liu Caiyu contributed to this story