国内英语新闻:China's voting power in World Bank ascends to third place

China's voting power in World Bank ascends to third place 
 
English.news.cn   2010-04-26 01:11:43 FeedbackPrintRSS

"The bank has a very proud and successful relationship with China and this year is our 30th anniversary. I look forward to going to China later this year and helping celebrate it," said the World Bank chief.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said earlier Sunday that the change in voting power would reflect the growing shift in power away from established nations.

"The new formula will better reflect the weight of the developing and transition countries in the global economy, while protecting the voice of the smallest and poorest countries," he said in a statement.

"Because we believe this overall outcome merits our strong endorsement, the United States agreed not to take up its full shareholding in this new arrangement," he said.

The United States currently still holds a 16.4-percent voting share in the World Bank, and Japan 7.9-percent.

Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren welcomed the shift.

Consensus reached on the voice reform package "represents an important step towards equitable voting power between developing and developed members," said Xie in a statement.

"This also demonstrates that Development Committee can play a pivotal role in improving the World Bank's governance and promoting global development," he stressed.

But he also said the achievement is "only part of the ongoing process," noting China supports periodic review of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) shareholding in future.