Approval of the package follows months of political jockeying among the IMF's 184 member countries and strong doubts, in particular, of developing nations about whether the move would amount to significant change.

In reaction, the United States, the IMF's largest and most influential member, said it was pleased with the decision.

"An effective IMF needs a modern governance structure that legitimately represents its members and takes into account the rapid growth in emerging markets and their increasing role in the management of the world economy," said Brookly McLaughlin, U.S. deputy assistant secretary for public affairs.

It was important, she added, that changes be part of a broad package, which includes overhauling the outdated quota formulas to better reflect gross domestic product and a further round of increases for emerging markets.

"We also believe it is critical to ensure that the voice of low-income countries is protected and other reforms are included, such as rewriting 30-year-old rules to improve surveillance of exchange rates," she added.

The United States has backed China's quota increase, even as U.S. legislators threaten to impose trade tariffs on China over its exchange rate policy.

Developing countries have long pushed for changes in the IMF's voting structures, arguing that it undermines the fund's legitimacy at a time when it is seeking a greater role in monitoring the global economy, including the exchange rates of emerging economies like China.

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