Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

Great sign to see. Hoping Paulson becomes a real force here. This is God's work in the era of globalizaton:

U.S. Seeks Bigger China Role in I.M.F., By STEVEN R. WEISMAN, New York Times, 30 August 2006.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 — In an effort to gain Chinese cooperation on international economic issues, the Bush administration is pushing for China and other developing nations to get more power in the global institution that has played a central role in easing myriad financial crises since the end of World War II.

Timothy D. Adams, a Treasury under secretary, prefers that Beijing have increased responsibility.

But the American-led effort to increase influence at the International Monetary Fund for China — and for South Korea, Turkey and Mexico, as well — is being resisted by several countries in Europe, which would lose power to those who would be gaining it.

Administration officials argue that the I.M.F. has to be restructured to reflect the strength of fast-growing countries in Asia, Latin America and parts of Europe so these countries have more of a stake in a 60-year-old international system that oversees potential problems from the huge global flows of currency and capital.

“The I.M.F. has been asleep at the wheel in an era when private capital flows have been growing at an unprecedented pace,” said Timothy D. Adams, under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs. “The fund needs to get back to basics to deal with the problems of the 21st century.”

Mr. Adams said that China, like many other fast-developing countries, is “woefully underrepresented” at the I.M.F., with a smaller share of the total voting rights than other countries with smaller economies slower growth. The United States wants economic growth and the size of the economy to determine the scale of a nation’s voice at the fund.

The proposals are to be taken up at a meeting of the I.M.F. and the World Bank late in September in Singapore, to be attended by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.

At the same time, the administration is urging China to take on a greater role in promoting an open global trading system by helping restart the aborted trade talks sponsored by the World Trade Organization...

Throw away the bathwater, Don, but let's not lose sight on what really matters--or what were the most important lessons of the 1930s. Al Qaeda is never going to kill globalization. Only giant trading states like America and China can do that.

So let's preserve what's truly essential to our system's survival, and deal with the marginals as they come at us--and yes, they will keep coming at us.