China wants 'democratic' choice for IMF

China said Thursday it wants the next International Monetary Fund leader to be selected through "democratic negotiation" but gave no sign whether it backs candidates from France, Mexico or other governments.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said Beijing supports a call by the Group of 20 major developed and developing nations for an "open, transparent, merit-based selection" as part of reforms of global financial institutions.

"(China) hopes that on the basis of the above principles, all sides can make a decision through democratic negotiation," the statement said.

It did not respond to questions about whether Beijing supports French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde or other contenders to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn as IMF managing director. Strauss-Kahn quit last week after he was accused of attempting to rape a New York City hotel maid.

A foreign ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, declined at a regular briefing to give other details.

A decision by the 24-member IMF executive board is expected by the end of June. Other possible candidates include Mexico's central bank governor, Agustin Carstens.

China and other developing countries have pushed for changes in the IMF and its sibling organization, the World Bank, to reduce the dominance of Western governments and Japan and reflect the growing economic strength of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Many European countries, including Germany and Britain, have offered their backing to a Lagarde candidacy. Emerging economies have yet to rally behind a single candidate but say the job should be open to non-Europeans.

The Washington-based IMF lends money to countries to help resolve balance of payments problems and financial crises.

The leader of the IMF always has been a European while the World Bank president has been an American, an arrangement that developing countries have criticized.