Washington's use of its de facto veto at the International Monetary Fund to block reforms which will give emerging countries a greater say is jeopardizing the IMF's credibility, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said at the Fund's annual meeting in Lima, Peru, according to AFP.

In fact the reforms were originally propelled by Washington with the aim of doubling the IMF funding and relocating voting power to boost China and other up-and-coming economic powers.

China only has 4 percent voting power in the IMF according to the current rules though it is the second largest economy. Its voting power will rank third following the U.S. and Japan after the reforms. The European media believe the U.S. blocking IMF reforms is targeted at China.

"We strongly hope the U.S. Congress starts taking some responsibility again for international financial institutions, to avoid isolation at a time of growing Chinese influence," said Jeroen Dijsselbloem, President of the Eurogroup, according to Reuters.

Is the U.S. the biggest block for China to expand its influence? Jiang Yong, a researcher of Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the biggest function of the IMF for the U.S. is to stabilize international exchange rate and keep U.S. dollar as a strong currency. In his opinion, the IMF is a tool for the U.S. to deal with its debtors. He added that the IMF plays a smaller role for the U.S. since more and more developing countries have become creditors while more developed ones have become debtors.

Jiang believes that the U.S. tries to force China to accept more requirements. The U.S. tries to crimple China’s bargaining chip after drawing China to the IMF. 

This article was edited and translated from 《美国阻挠IMF改革 引发多方舆论“愤怒轰炸》, source: Global Times, author: Wang Hailin,Du Tianqi,Qing Mu