Beijing has agreed for the first time to provide finance for the joint International Monetary Fund-World Bank initiative for Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC).
Finance Minister Xiang Huaicheng revealed that in support of the IMF's new emphasis on the social impact of its activities, the mainland had decided to contribute.
The IMF's special trust account will help HIPCs and countries qualifying under its Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility.
The trust account is worth US$2.5 billion but the IMF said it needed to reach $3.9 billion to be effective.
To qualify, a nation needs to prove it has been working to improve its economy but struggles to repay its loans.
The IMF has been lobbying hard for countries to contribute to the trust fund, but many have refused and others have made pledges on condition that the initiative proves effective.