China, Emerging Powers Chipped in on IMF Firewall

Led by China, emerging economies pledged huge sums to the International Monetary Fund's global firewall, helping it raise USD 456 billion in resources as the euro zone crisis rages. In a clear statement of their new force in the world economy, rising economic powers brought some USD 95.5 billion in new money to the table for the IMF during the G20 summit in Mexico, pushing it beyond its USD 430 billion target.

But the the money also came with a warning that things had to change at the Fund, long dominated by the now troubled economic power of Europe and the United States, which itself has not contributed to the firewall. In an announcement, the IMF said China was offering USD 43 billion, Brazil, Russia, India and Mexico USD 10 billion each, USD 5 billion from Turkey, and smaller sums from a handful of other up-and-coming economies. IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said that 12 more countries offered money to the fund during the Group of 20 meeting in the Mexican resort of Los Cabos, bringing the total number of donors to 37.