The United States, supported by European countries, called for the IMF to have an "expanded role" over its 184 members, including on the sensitive issue of exchange rates. China's position, as expressed by Chinese Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan to the Steering Committee over the weekend, was that the Fund's surveillance should not focus solely on a country's exchange rate.

More importantly, there appears to be widespread Asian support for the Chinese position on its progressive re-evaluation of the renminbi according to market forces, as US and European pressure increases. Instead, Asian countries have become more and more alarmed by the huge deficits chalked up by the American economy, although they realize that their own economic growth is tied closely to sound US consumption.

Also key to the debate in Singapore was the Asian grouse that the United States and Europe have cornered the two financial institutions, when the heads of the IMF and World Bank must necessarily hail from Europe and the United States respectively, leaving no room for an Asian to attain high office in either. They have pointed to a Goldman Sachs report predicting that Asia will contain three of the four top economies in the world by 2050 which would be China, the United States, India and Japan, in that order.

In Singapore, Asia staked its claim on the world financial stage, in the hopes that further reforms would ultimately be made in favour of Asia.

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