China is ready to buy bonds issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if the multilateral financial institution's quota-based contributions fall short of immediate needs, Vice-Premier Wang Qishan wrote in a Friday article for the London Times newspaper.

It was the second time within a week that a senior government official had expressed the country's willingness to buy IMF bonds.

Earlier this week, central bank deputy governor Hu Xiaolian said China was ready to support the IMF if it decided to raise capital through bond issuance.

In an article titled "G20 must look beyond the needs of the top 20", Wang said the IMF should set the scale of contributions by per-capita GDP rather than the size of a country's foreign exchange reserves.

"It is neither realistic nor fair to set the scale of contribution simply by the size of foreign exchange reserves," he wrote.

"China is ready to play an active part in exploring ways to raise resources and will contribute to this effort within its ability. We hold that the IMF should mobilize resources through the quota-based system as well as voluntary contributions, striking a balance between the rights and obligations of the contributing countries."

The increase in resources, Wang stressed, should be achieved within the IMF framework and must be done using a flexible approach.

"Buying IMF bonds will make China's foreign exchange reserves safer and more secure, and would help the IMF to play a bigger role in coping with the global financial crisis," said Zhong Wei, director of the financial research center at Beijing Normal University.

(China Daily March 28, 2009))