Both of the announced candidates to head the International Monetary Fund are visiting key emerging nations, seeking support for their rival bids to become the next Managing Director of the global lender.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is in Beijing for a series of meetings with top Chinese financial and political officials. She arrived Wednesday, after making a similar visit to India, where she did not win a public endorsement of her candidacy.

A news report on Bloomberg says her rival, Mexican central bank Governor Agustin Carstens, is planning a visit to India on Friday after bringing his campaign to other key nations, including Brazil. Carstens has said he faces an “uphill” fight, and complained that many European nations backed Lagarde before all the candidates were announced. A number of Latin American nations are backing Carstens.

Emerging nations say their large and growing role in the global economy mean it is time to end a tradition of always choosing a European to head the IMF.

The top IMF job is open after French national Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned last month after being arrested on sexual assault charges.

The International Monetary Fund was established after World War Two to lend money to countries in financial trouble.