International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Tuesday that it is legitimate for China to play "a bigger role" in the world economy.

"The crisis is certainly an opportunity to reshuffle the IMF's governance, to see the new balance of powers in the world," Strauss-Kahn responded to a question raised by Xinhua.

"I do believe that it is an opportunity for China to play a bigger role," he said, noting that it is "legitimate" for China due to its size of economy, population and the efforts by the Chinese government to cope with the crisis.

"I think it is good for everybody that China becomes a more and more big player in the world economy," he stated, adding that China will also take more responsibilities.

Meanwhile, the IMF chief said that the influence of a member country is not simply a question of its quota.

What determines the influence of a country in the IMF is its engagement with the Fund, including providing resources or providing technical assistance, said Strauss-Kahn.

China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan last week urged the IMF to push forward its own reforms and said that China is willing to explore modalities and make appropriate contributions to the IMF.

"We believe that the size of contribution should reflect members respective rights and obligations in the Fund," said Zhou at the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting held on Saturday.

"We must emphasize that the Fund is a quota-based institution, and that quota increases and realignment are the basic means of resolving the issue of the Fund's inadequate resources and are an essential requirement to improve the Fund's governance structure," Zhou said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2009)