The adjustment was approved by the ongoing IMF annual meeting in Singapore. South Korea, Turkey and Mexico also got relevant increases in their quotas.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank, told the meeting that the ad hoc quota increase for a small group of countries is a good beginning for the IMF's governance reform. He urged the fund to go ahead with the second-stage reform plan, particularly on issues related to the quota formula and basic votes.

The quota formula should be simpler and more transparent, while the basic votes should be increased by a significant margin, he said.

Each IMF member economy is assigned a quota, broadly based on its relative size in the global economy. A member's quota determines its maximum financial commitment to the IMF and its voting power.

Zhou also urged all countries to take timely measures for economic restructuring, oppose trade protectionism and create a favourable environment for globalization.

Faced with continued rapid economic growth, the Chinese Government is conscious of the risks it faces and will accelerate economic restructuring, modify the economic growth model and widen economic liberalization to achieve balanced and sustainable development.

Zhou said the Chinese Government has taken further steps to improve the renminbi exchange rate formation mechanism and continue to modify its foreign exchange management policy to push for a general equilibrium in the balance of payments.

"Important progress has been made in the exchange rate regime to allow greater flexibility. The impact of this policy will be felt over time," Zhou was quoted by Reuters as saying.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Zhou also said there were signs of weakening US growth, but Chinese exporters would be cushioned by their cheap products and ability to diversify. China may feel some negative impact eventually if a slowdown in US economic growth trickled down to the global economy, but such an impact would not be "very serious," he told reporters.

"China's exports to the United States are sizeable, but such exports add little value in the country and the potential for exporters to diversify is very big," he said.

Recent cuts in export rebates would help improve the country's export structure, he said.

Policies to boost domestic consumption were producing some positive results, while fiscal and monetary policy had been conducted prudently.

"The medium- and long-term challenges to China's economy include the need to address structural problems, environmental concerns and job market pressure," he said.

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