IMF top job contender Lagarde to visit Washington: ministry

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde will make her bid to lead the International Monetary Fund in a meeting Thursday with the executive board, an IMF spokesman confirmed."Later today, that means probably around midday, Christine Lagarde will meet with the executive board and her statement will also be released later," spokesman David Hawley said at a news briefing.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde made her case to become the next leader of the International Monetary Fund, vowing to promote reforms to make the power lender more representative of the global economy.Lagarde said she had "productive" one-on-one meetings with IMF executive directors Wednesday and early Thursday in Washington, before a three-hour interview with the 24-member board in the afternoon.

BEIJING (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde will visit China in early June and will meet leading officials from the People's Bank of China to discuss her candidacy to head the International Monetary Fund, China's foreign ministry said on Thursday.