By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - International Monetary
Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Friday she has
nominated Tao Zhang, deputy governor of China's central bank, to serve
as an IMF deputy managing director effective Aug. 22.
Assuming no
objections from the IMF's executive board, Zhang will succeed Min Zhu,
who will step down from the position on July 25. Zhu also is a Chinese
national who previously had served as deputy governor of the People's
Bank of China.
Zhang
returned to the PBOC as deputy governor in 2015 after serving as the
IMF's executive director representing China for four years.
He
previously served in several positions at the PBOC, including as head of
the bank's legal affairs department and as head of its financial survey
and statistics department. He also has worked at the World Bank and the
Asian Development Bank in the 1990s and early 2000s and has degrees
from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Tsinghua University
in Beijing.
China holds 6.11 percent of the IMF's voting power, the third largest share after the United States and Japan.
"Mr.
Zhang brings a strong combination of international economic expertise,
public sector policymaking, and diplomatic skills," Lagarde said in a
statement. "He also has extensive experience with international
financial institutions, excellent communication and negotiating skills,
and a superb knowledge of IMF policies and procedures."
Zhang
will serve alongside three other IMF deputy managing directors: first
deputy David Lipton, an American; Mitsuhiro Furusawa, a Japanese
national; and Carla Grasso, who holds dual citizenship of Brazil and
Italy and serves as the fund's chief administrative officer
