Lagarde to give China senior IMF job: sources

They said Min Zhu, a Chinese national who was a special adviser to former IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was expected to fill a new deputy managing director post to be created by the Fund's new chief, Christine Lagarde.

"Min Zhu is expected to be named to deputy managing director," an IMF board member told Reuters. The appointment, which would give China one of the top five management jobs at the Fund, would first need the approval of the 24-member IMF board of member countries.

Lagarde on Wednesday vowed during her first news conference as managing director to give developing nations a greater role in the fund. She said she was considering creating a new high-level job that would be filled by a candidate from an emerging market country.

The move should appeal to emerging and developing markets, which have demanded a greater say in the international financial institution to reflect their growing economic clout.