The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is controlled by European and American central banks privately owned by the World Bank giants and other bankers who control the lifeline of the world economy (European and American central banks are generally privately owned Yes, these international bankers have the power to issue currencies, and they are the real hands behind these governments) international financial organizations. It was formally established in March 1946. It started work on March 1, 1947, and became a specialized agency of the United Nations on November 15, 1947, with its own operational independence. Headquartered in Washington. The purpose of the organization is to promote international monetary cooperation through a permanent institution and provide methods for consultation and collaboration on international monetary issues; through the expansion and balanced development of international trade, it promotes and maintains employment, the development of productive resources, and real income of member states. as the primary goal of economic policy; to stabilize international exchange rates, maintain orderly exchange arrangements among member states, and avoid competitive exchange rate devaluation; to assist member states in establishing a multilateral payment system for regular transactions, and to eliminate obstacles that hinder world trade. Exchange controls; subject to appropriate guarantees, the Fund provides temporary general funds to member countries so that they can confidently use the opportunity to correct imbalances in the balance of payments without taking measures that would endanger national or international prosperity; in accordance with the above purposes, Shorten the period of imbalance in the international balance of payments of member countries, reduce the degree of imbalance, etc. The organization's funds come from the shares subscribed by each member. Members enjoy the right to withdraw, that is, to borrow foreign exchange in proportion to their paid shares. In 1969, the currency (accounting) unit of the "Special Drawing Rights" was created as a supplement to the means of international circulation to alleviate the international income deficit of some members. Members are obliged to provide economic information and accept supervision of the organization in terms of foreign exchange policy and management. The highest authority of the IMF is the Board of Governors, which is composed of one chairperson and one vice-governor from each member country, usually served by the finance minister or central bank governor of each country. A meeting is held in September every year. Each council exercises its own country's voting rights individually (the size of each country's voting rights is determined by the amount of the fund share it pays); the executive board is responsible for daily work and exercises all powers entrusted by the council. It is composed of 24 members. It is composed of executive directors, 8 of whom are appointed by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia. The remaining 16 executive directors are elected by other members in 16 constituencies; China is a separate constituency and also has one seat. The executive directors are elected every two years; the president is elected by the executive board and is responsible for the business work of the Fund. The term of office is 5 years and can be re-elected. There are also three vice presidents. The organization's Interim Committee is regarded as the decision-making and guidance body of the International Monetary Fund, one of the world's two largest financial institutions. The committee will play a full role in policy cooperation and coordination, especially in formulating medium-term strategies. The committee consists of 24 executive directors. The International Monetary Fund holds its annual meeting together with the World Bank every year. The main publications include: "World Economic Outlook", "International Financial Statistics" (monthly), "International Monetary Fund Overview" (weekly), "Balance of Payment Statistics" (monthly), and "Government Finance Statistics Yearbook". China is one of the founding countries of this organization. On April 17, 1980, the organization officially restored China's representation. China's share in the organization is SDR 8.0901 billion, accounting for 3.72% of the total share. The Communist Party of China has 81,151 votes, accounting for 3.66% of the total voting power. Since China resumed its seat in the IMF in 1980, it has formed a separate constituency and appointed an executive director. In 1991, the organization established a permanent representative office in Beijing. [Edit this paragraph] Institutional Purpose The purpose of the organization is to promote international monetary cooperation through a permanent institution and provide methods for consultation and collaboration on international monetary issues; through the expansion and balanced development of international trade, to promote and maintain employment and employment in member countries. The development of productive resources and the high level of real income are the primary goals of economic policy; stabilizing international exchange rates, maintaining orderly exchange arrangements among member states, and avoiding competitive exchange devaluation; assisting member states in establishing multilateral payments for regular transactions system to eliminate foreign exchange controls that impede world trade; and, subject to appropriate guarantees, the IMF provides temporary general funds to member countries so that they can have the confidence to use the opportunity to correct imbalances in the balance of payments without taking steps that would jeopardize their own national or international prosperity Measures; in accordance with the above purposes, shorten the period of imbalance in the international balance of payments of member countries, reduce the degree of imbalance, etc. The organization's funds come from the shares subscribed by each member. Members enjoy the right to withdraw, that is, to borrow foreign exchange in proportion to their paid shares. In 1969, the currency (accounting) unit of the "Special Drawing Rights" was created as a supplement to the means of international circulation to alleviate the international income deficit of some members. Members are obliged to provide economic information and accept the supervision of the organization in terms of foreign exchange policy and management, playing a hub and core role in the international monetary system. [Edit this paragraph] Main functions Its main functions: formulate and supervise exchange rate policies and rules on current account payments and currency convertibility among member states; provide emergency funds when necessary to member states experiencing international balance of payments difficulties Integrate to prevent other countries from being affected by it; provide member countries with a meeting place for international monetary cooperation and consultation.

Promote international cooperation in the financial and monetary fields; promote the pace of international economic integration; maintain the international exchange rate order; assist member countries in establishing a regular multilateral payment system, etc. [Edit this paragraph] History of the IMF In 1944, a financial conference sponsored by the United Nations was held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. On July 22, various countries signed an agreement to establish the International Monetary Fund at the meeting. The principal architects of the International Monetary Fund were Fabian Society member John Maynard Keynes and U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Harry Dexter White. The terms of the agreement were put into effect on December 27, 1945. The International Monetary Fund was formally established in May 1946 as part of the reconstruction plan after the end of World War II. It officially came into operation on March 1, 1947. The International Monetary Fund, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the World Bank are sometimes referred to as the "Bretton Woods institutions". Almost all countries that implement market economies have their financial policies affected by these three institutions. [Edit this paragraph] IMF Organizational Structure The Interim Committee of the organization is regarded as the decision-making and guidance body of the International Monetary Fund. The committee will play a full role in policy cooperation and coordination, especially in formulating medium-term strategies. The committee consists of 24 executive directors. The International Monetary Fund holds its annual meeting together with the World Bank every year. The IMF has 5 regional departments (Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Western Hemisphere) and 12 functional departments (administration, central banking operations, exchange and trade relations, external relations, fiscal affairs, International Monetary Fund Institute, legal affairs, Research, Secretary, Treasurer, Statistics, Language Services). [Edit this paragraph]Membership Applications to join the International Monetary Fund will first be reviewed by the Fund’s Board of Directors. Afterwards, the Board of Directors will submit a "Membership Resolution" report to the Governance Committee, which will recommend how many quotas the applicant country can receive in the fund, as well as the terms. After the governance committee accepts the application, the country needs to amend its laws, confirm the signed membership documents, and commit to abide by the fund's rules. Moreover, the currency of a member country cannot be linked to gold (it cannot be exchanged for the country's gold reserves). The "quota" of a member country determines a country's dues payable, voting power, share of financial assistance received, and the number of Special Drawing Rights (SDR). China is one of the founding countries of this organization. On April 17, 1980, the International Monetary Fund officially restored China’s representation rights. China's share in the organization is SDR 3.3853 billion, accounting for 2.34% of the total share. The Communist Party of China has 34,102 votes, accounting for 2.28% of the total voting power. Since China resumed its seat in the IMF in 1980, it has formed a separate constituency and appointed an executive director. In 1991, the organization established a permanent representative office in Beijing. The IMF is "an organization involving 185 countries, committed to promoting global financial cooperation, strengthening financial stability, promoting international trade, and helping countries achieve high employment rates and sustainable development." In addition to North Korea, Liechtenstein, Cuba, Andorra, and Monaco , Tuvalu and Nauru, all United Nations member states and only United Nations member states are entitled to become members of the Fund, directly or indirectly. IMF’s Rules of Procedure The IMF’s rules of procedure are very unique and implement a weighted voting system. Voting rights consist of two parts, each member country has a basic voting right of 250 votes, and a weighted voting right based on the share paid by each country. Since the basic number of votes is the same in all countries, it is the weighted voting rights that play a decisive role in actual decision-making. The weighted voting rights are proportional to the share paid by each country, and the share is determined based on a country's gross national income, economic development level, pre-war international trade extent and other factors. Currently, the voting power of the IMF is mainly in the hands of the United States, the European Union and Japan, and China's share is not even as good as that of Belgium and the Netherlands combined. The United States is the largest shareholder of the IMF, with a share of 17.4%, and China only accounts for 2.98%, which obviously does not accurately reflect China's increasing importance in the world economy. The IMF's practice of dividing the voice and voting rights of member states based on their economic strength is obviously contrary to the basic principles of traditional international law and has aroused dissatisfaction among many countries, especially developing countries. According to statistics, basic voting rights once exceeded 15% of all IMF voting rights, but due to the expansion of the IMF, they now only account for 2% of the total. Latest: The United States holds 16.83% of the voting rights in the IMF, and China now only holds 3.72% after the increase. All major IMF issues require an 85% approval rate, so the United States enjoys de facto veto power. Even if China injects capital into the IMF, its status in the IMF will not change much. Special Drawing Rights Special Drawing Rights (SDR) is a reserve asset and unit of account created by the International Monetary Fund, also known as "Paper Gold". It is a right to use funds allocated by the IMF to member states. When a member country encounters a balance of payments deficit, it can use it to exchange for foreign exchange from other member states designated by the Fund to repay the balance of payments deficit or repay the Fund's loans. It can also serve as an international reserve like gold and freely convertible currencies. However, since it is only an accounting unit and not a real currency, it must be converted into other currencies before use and cannot be directly used for trade or non-trade payments.

Because it is a supplement to the original ordinary drawing rights of the International Monetary Fund, it is called the Special Drawing Rights (SDR). The Special Drawing Rights is not a tangible currency. It is invisible and intangible, but is only a book asset. In the early days of the creation of the Special Drawing Rights, its value was determined by its gold content. At that time, it was stipulated that 35 Special Drawing Rights units were equal to 1 ounce of gold, which was equivalent to the U.S. dollar. On December 18, 1971, the U.S. dollar depreciated for the first time, but the gold content of the Special Drawing Rights remained unchanged, so 1 Special Drawing Rights rose to 1.08571 U.S. dollars. On February 12, 1973, the U.S. dollar depreciated for the second time, and the gold content of the Special Drawing Rights remained unchanged. One Special Drawing Rights rose to 1.20635 U.S. dollars. In 1973, the currencies of major Western countries decoupled from the U.S. dollar. After the implementation of floating exchange rates, the exchange rate continued to change. However, the ratio of the Special Drawing Rights to the U.S. dollar was still fixed at a level equal to 1.20635 U.S. dollars per unit. The SDR against other currencies The price comparisons are based on the exchange rate of the US dollar against other currencies. The SDR has completely lost its independence, causing dissatisfaction in many countries. The Committee of 20 advocated using a basket of currencies as the valuation standard for the Special Drawing Rights. In July 1974, the IMF officially announced that the Special Drawing Rights would be decoupled from gold and instead use a "basket" of 16 currencies as the valuation standard. These 16 currencies include the currencies of member countries that accounted for more than 1% of the world's total exports of goods and services in the first five years to 1972. In addition to the US dollar, there are also the Federal German Mark, the Japanese yen, the British pound, the French franc, the Canadian dollar, the Italian lira, the Dutch guilder, the Belgian franc, the Swedish krona, the Australian dollar, the Norwegian krone, the Danish krone, the Spanish pesetas, and the South African rand. and the Austrian shilling. The quotation price of the Special Drawing Rights is announced every day according to changes in the foreign exchange market. In July 1976, the IMF adjusted the currencies in the "basket" by removing the Danish Krone and the South African Rand and replacing them with the Saudi Arabian Rial and the Iranian Rial. The proportion has also been appropriately adjusted. In order to simplify the valuation method of the Special Drawing Rights and enhance the attractiveness of the Special Drawing Rights, on September 18, 1980, the IMF announced that it would simplify the currencies that make up the "basket" into five Western currencies, namely the U.S. dollar. , federal German mark, Japanese yen, French franc and pound, their proportions in the Special Drawing Rights are 42%, 19%, 13%, 13% and 13% respectively. In 1987, the weights of the five currencies in the currency basket were adjusted to 42%, 19%, 15%, 12%, and 12%. Therefore, one unit of Special Drawing Rights now contains more than just U.S. dollars! Aid and Reform The mission of the International Monetary Fund is to provide assistance to countries in serious economic difficulties. For countries with serious fiscal deficits, the fund may provide financial assistance and even assist in managing national finances. Recipient countries need to make reforms, see the Washington Post. Criticism Since the late Cold War, the role of the Bretton Woods institutions has been controversial. Criticisms point out that the fund favors capitalist military dictators who have good relations with European and American companies. Others criticize that the International Monetary Fund does not pay attention to democracy, human rights and labor rights. These criticisms aroused social discussion and promoted the anti-globalization movement. A counter-argument is that the IMF has limited ability to promote democratization in countries and that its purpose does not state that it should do so. Some supporters point out that economic stability is a prerequisite for democracy. Some economists have criticized that the International Monetary Fund's economic aid is awarded "conditionally": the recipient country needs to implement the economic reforms recommended by the Fund. Economists believe that doing so will affect the country's social stability and is actually counterproductive. Generally speaking, the International Monetary Fund and its supporters promote Keynesianism. As a result, supporters of the supply school usually oppose the IMF. The International Monetary Fund advocates currency devaluation, which is criticized by the supply-side school of thought as causing inflation. Most organizations that oppose economic globalization, such as ATTAC, believe that the IMF has deepened the poverty problem and increased the debt burden of third world countries and developing countries. Organizations that oppose the IMF have different positions. For example, the supply school believes that the policies proposed by ATTAC are conceptually similar to those of the IMF. Argentina was praised as a model country by the IMF for adopting the economic policies proposed by the Bretton Woods institutions. However, in 2001, the country suffered a catastrophic financial crisis, which many believe was caused by the IMF's initiative to tighten fiscal budgets and privatize important resource development projects. Tight budgets have reduced the government's ability to maintain infrastructure, welfare, and education services. The financial crisis in Argentina has deepened the resentment of South American countries towards the IMF, and they accuse the Fund of being responsible for the economic problems in South America [1]. Affected by the economic crisis in Argentina, governments in South America are now gradually taking a center-left path and are striving to get rid of the pressure of commercial enterprises on economic policies. Another controversial country is Kenya. Originally, Kenya's central bank controlled the flow of the country's currency. After the IMF offered assistance, it requested loosening of monetary policy. After the adjustment, not only did foreign investment plummet, but under the influence of corrupt officials, Kamlesh Manusuklal Damji Pattni lost billions of Kenyan shillings (for Goldenberg Scandal), and Kenya's financial situation is even worse than before.

The International Monetary Fund's remedial actions have affected its reputation: often the IMF only reaches out to help countries when they are already severely hit economically. In fact, economic problems in these countries are usually the result of decades of mismanagement and are not known to the outside world. The IMF's intervention was often linked to economic collapse when mismanagement led to years of economic troubles for a country, and the IMF often provided assistance at this time. Criminal politicians are good at diverting attention, taking advantage of nationalism and people's bad impression of the IMF, and using the IMF as their scapegoat. Although the IMF was established to help stabilize the global economy, more than 100 countries have experienced banking system collapse since the 1980s, causing GDP to fall by more than 4%, which is unprecedented. The IMF's slow response to the crisis and its attempt to make up for the situation have led many economists to propose reforming the IMF. Although Western society has mixed opinions about the International Monetary Fund, a survey by the Research Center shows that more than 60% of Asians and 70% of Africans believe that the IMF and the World Bank have a "positive" impact on their countries [2]. The documentary Life and Debt takes a critical look at the impact of the International Monetary Fund's policies on Jamaica. [Edit this paragraph] Functions of the Fund (1) Financing of foreign exchange funds: When member countries face difficulties in their international balance of payments, they can apply to the Fund for loans of foreign exchange funds. However, its use is limited to short-term imbalances in the current balance of payments. Each member country can use the funds of the fund, and its maximum limit is twice the country's assessment. Within this limit, only 25% of the assessment can be used in one year. Later, the Fund has gradually relaxed member states' restrictions on the use of funds to meet actual needs. (2) Provisions on exchange rates, capital movements and other foreign exchange control measures for each member state: Unless a basic imbalance occurs in the international balance of payments of a member state, the parity of its own currency shall not be arbitrarily adjusted. The so-called basic imbalance refers to the imbalance in the balance of payments caused by reasons other than short-term factors such as seasonality, speculation, and economic cycles. Regarding the movement of funds, the Fund stipulates that member states shall not use funds from the Fund to pay for large or sustained capital outflows. Member States may impose controls on such capital outflows, but this shall not prevent external payments for economic transactions. (3) It has the role of providing information and suggestions to member states: my country has an early history in the Fund. my country was one of the 44 countries participating in the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944, and as a big country, its share is very large, second only to the United States. US$27.5 billion and US$13 billion from the United Kingdom, while US$5.5 billion, together with the United States, Britain, France, and India, is among the countries with the largest share. When the fund was replenished in 1959, due to various reasons, my country's share did not increase, so it could not be included among the five countries with the largest share. In 1961, the qualification to appoint an executive director alone was replaced by West Germany. In the past, my country's qualifications in the International Monetary Fund were represented by the Kuomintang government authorities. After my country resumed its legal seat in the United Nations, in April 1980, the International Monetary Fund canceled the qualifications of the Taiwan authorities and restored my country's membership status. (4) Fund parity: The International Monetary Fund adopts a parity system for foreign exchange rates, stipulating that each member country must set the parity of its own currency. Article 4 of the Fund stipulates: The parity of the currencies of member countries is generally expressed as 1 ounce of gold (British taels) equal to 35 US dollars. The foreign exchange buying and selling prices in each country shall not fluctuate by more than 1% of parity. After the establishment of the Smithsonian Agreement in 1971, the fluctuation range of this spot exchange rate has been expanded to a range of 2.25% plus or minus parity, and the standard for determining "parity" has been changed from gold to Special Drawing Rights. As for the parity price announced by the fund, it cannot be changed without the consent of the fund. However, if a member country's international balance of payments is basically unbalanced, it can request the Fund to adjust parity. If the overall range is within 10% of parity, member countries may make adjustments on their own and the fund will ratify it. If it exceeds 10%, the adjustment must be approved by the fund first. This parity system is an "adjustable pegged exchange rate." Although it is quite close to the gold exchange standard, the parity of the fund is determined by the fund and member states, while the gold exchange standard is determined by the gold content ratio. [Edit this paragraph] Differences from the World Bank The main role of the International Monetary Fund is as an auditor. Its job is to record trade figures and debts between countries, and preside over the formulation of international monetary and economic policies. As for the World Bank, it mainly provides long-term loans. The World Bank works like an investment bank, issuing bonds to companies, individuals or governments and lending the proceeds to recipient countries. The IMF was established to stabilize the currencies of various countries and monitor the foreign exchange market. Since the IMF is not a bank, it does not lend money. However, the International Monetary Fund has reserves that countries can borrow to stabilize their currencies for short periods of time; this is similar to overdrafting a current account. The loan amount must be repaid within 5 years. [Edit this paragraph] Successive Directors According to unwritten rules, the managing director of the IMF is from Europe, while the chairman of the World Bank is from the United States.

Term Name Nationality May 1946 - May 6, 1951 Camille Gutt Belgium August 1951 - October 1956 Ivar Rooth Sweden December 1956 - May 5, 1963 Per Jacobsson Sweden September 1, 1963 - September 1973 Month 1 Pierre-Paul Schweitzer France September 1, 1973 - June 17, 1978 Johannes Witteveen Netherlands June 17, 1978 - January 16, 1987 Jacques de Larosière France January 16, 1987 - February 14, 2000 Michel Camdessus France May 1, 2000 - March 4, 2004 Horst Koehler Germany March 4, 2004 - May 4, 2004 Anne Anne Krueger United States (authorized, unofficial) May 4, 2004 - November 1, 2007 Rodrigo Lato Spain November 1, 2007 - Dominique Strauss-Kahn Germany [Edit this paragraph] Reform of the IMF At the third financial summit of the Group of Twenty (G20) held in Pittsburgh, USA, in September 2009, participating leaders committed to increasing the share of emerging markets and developing countries in the IMF to at least 5 More than %, a change of 5% means that the voting power ratio of developed and developing countries has been adjusted from 57:43 to 52:48, which is close to equality. Currently, China’s voting rights are 3.66%, and those of Britain and France are both 4.85%. Western media analysis believes that after the adjustment is completed, China is likely to become the biggest winner of the transfer of voting rights, surpassing the United Kingdom and France and becoming the fourth largest country in IMF voting rights, second only to the United States, Japan and Germany. This order is also roughly consistent with the economic strength of each country.