The current global economic crisis calls for a central body to assume leadership in responding to the systemic risks it has inflicted and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) can play the role, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Tuesday in an exclusive written interview with Xinhua.

The interview was conducted on the eve of the G20 financial summit that is scheduled for April 1-2 in London to discuss measures to fight the ongoing global financial crisis.

The following is the Q&A with Strauss-Kahn:

Q: You have called for a new international financial order. What are the principles of the new order you have in mind? And what role can China and other emerging economies play in it? What about the roles for the IMF and World Bank in the new order?

A: It is now widely recognized that financial market regulation has to change. Given the globalization of financial markets, we will also need greater international coordination, and all countries -- especially those with growing financial centers -- must play their part in that.

The IMF has a special role in this process, because of its expertise in assessing the linkages between financial sector and financial market rules and macroeconomic outcomes. This perspective is critical for designing regulatory frameworks and conducting oversight.

Another key issue concerns early warnings. We need a less fragmented and more pointed early warning system to bring together the expertise scattered across institutions and to understand key issues well. This will require better financial and macroeconomic oversight in advanced countries and a stronger response to asset prices surges.

Another issue is how to generate action once warnings are given. Before the crisis, there was almost no international policy coordination. And during the crisis, the initial policy response was far from collaborative, let alone coordinated.

There is a need for a central body to assume leadership for responses to systemic risks in the global economy. The G20 is beginning to play this role, but it does not represent all countries. Can the IMF play this role? I think it can, but first we would need to address deficits in ownership and efficiency.

Most emerging countries are still underrepresented at the IMF, and that's why I was so keen to launch the quota reform a year ago. The reform has begun to change the quota of different countries with an increase in emerging countries, an increase in low-income countries, and a decrease for many advanced economies.