The international community should push for reform of the international monetary system, including improving internal governance of major global financial organizations and increasing representation and voting rights of emerging economies within those organizations, the British newspaper The Times recently quoted Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan as saying.

"The desirable goal of reforming the international monetary system, therefore, is to create an international reserve currency that is disconnected from individual nations and is able to remain stable in the long run, thus removing the inherent deficiencies caused by using credit-based national currencies," Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank, said in one of his recently published articles.

Zhou recommended expanding the use of the Special Drawing Right of the International Monetary Fund in international trade, commodities pricing, investment and corporate bookkeeping.

Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren has also said that it was necessary to build a new international monetary system based on more reserve currencies so as to maintain the stability of the system.

The proposals raised by senior Chinese officials have been echoed by officials from many other countries and some international organizations.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the IMF, said Zhou's proposal for a new international reserve currency was reasonable.

Russian leaders also said that their country shares many of the same views expressed by Chinese officials on reforming the international monetary system. The idea of creating a new global reserve currency also was entertained by such major emerging economies as Brazil, India, South Korea and South Africa.

(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2009)