Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan met Thursday with the acting Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) John Lipsky, and later with Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Lipsky is in Beijing for a routine consultation on the Chinese economy.

During the meeting, Wang praised the sound cooperation between China and the IMF.

He said the IMF has made remarkable progress in its reform on the quota system and governance structure, which has increased the representation of developing countries.

China is willing to work with the IMF to push forward the reform on the international financial system and on international economic regulations and standards in an effort to promote a strong, sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy, he said.

Lipsky spoke highly of China's 12 Five-Year Plan and expressed his confidence in the sustainable development of China's economy.

The IMF is ready to deepen cooperation with China, he added.

The selection of the IMF's new head has drawn attention from developing countries.

In an interview earlier Thursday, Lipsky said the selection will be open, transparent and merit-based and the result will be disclosed by June 30.

Later Thursday, Wang also had a meeting with Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation.

The foundation, founded by Gates and his wife Melinda, has two programs that focus on global health and global development.

Wang said he appreciates the foundation's efforts in supporting global poverty alleviation and charities, and he added that China, as a developing country, has made unremitting efforts to provide assistance for the vast number of developing countries as well as the least developed countries.

China is willing to cooperate with the Gates Foundation in areas such as health and medicine, epidemic prevention, and agriculture in order to bolster efforts to achieve the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals, he said.

Gates also expressed his willingness to strengthen cooperation with China to facilitate its contributions to global poverty alleviation and charities.