International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde has named Chinese economist Jianhai Lin as the fund's secretary.
The IMF announced the appointment on Wednesday, set to take effect on March 22, with Lin becoming the first Chinese to head the secretary's department in the Washington-based global body. He will succeed India's Siddharth Tiwari, who was recently appointed director of the IMF's strategy, policy and review department.
Analysts said Lin's nomination was the latest sign of China's clout and the increased importance of emerging economies.
'It confirms the rising influence of China in international affairs and international organisations, especially as the IMF might rely on China to invest [in bailing] Europe out of its sovereign debt crisis,' said Hu Yifan, chief economist with Haitong International Research.
Beijing has said that it would prefer to use the IMF as a platform to help rescue the euro zone and has indicated that it is willing to make a contribution from its US$3.2 trillion foreign reserves, the world's largest.
Weeks after Lagarde was elected to the top post after the arrest of predecessor Dominique Strauss-Kahn in May over an alleged sexual assault, she appointed Zhu Min , former People's Bank of China deputy governor and special adviser to the IMF's managing director, as a deputy managing director of the fund.
Lagarde lauded Lin's wide-ranging IMF career in both country and policy work, saying his breadth of experience had been of particular benefit to the IMF. His skill in building consensus among staff, management and the IMF's global membership was essential during one of the most challenging periods in its history. Lin has been acting director of the secretary's department since November.
