China Business News reported the Chinese government has recommended Zhu as a candidate for the senior IMF post.

Zhu is expected to become a deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, before taking up the IMF post.

But the IMF has yet to make an appointment, the paper said.

China Daily said Zhu may soon take up a deputy governorship at the central bank, paving the way for his appointment as a deputy managing director at the Washington-based IMF.

The paper quoted a source as saying the central bank "had been officially informed about Zhu's new position."

If he takes an IMF post, the 56-year-old Zhu, a senior banker with international experience, will become the second Chinese national after Justin Lin, chief economist at the World Bank, to play a key role at an international financial institution, it said.

"Zhu's appointment at the IMF will be a significant step toward breaking up the U.S. and Europe's dominant position in the international financial stage," China Daily quoted Pang Zhongying, a professor in international relations at Renmin University of China, as saying.

China has been calling for reforms of governance at the IMF and the World Bank to better reflect the growing clout of Beijing and other emerging markets in the world economy.

Guo Qingping, an assistant governor of the central bank, said earlier that Beijing wants to see more people from developing countries posted to the senior management of the IMF.

"This will help increase the representation and legitimacy of the senior management of this organization," he said.

Similarly, Assistant Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao has said China wants to see voting rights in the IMF and World Bank distributed equally between developed and developing countries, calling for 50-50 proportions for the two camps.

China is expected to overtake Japan as the world's second-largest economy later this year or next year.