World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Sunday that the news changes in the organization' s voting power reflects developing countries' rise in the world economy.

The World Bank "made important strides of increasing the voice and influence of developing countries at the World Bank Group. The endorsement of the shift in voting power is crucial for the bank's legitimacy," said Zoellick.

World Bank members agreed on Sunday to increase by 3.13 percentage points the voting power of the Developing and Transition Countries (DTCs), making it 47.19 percent now. This also represented a total increase of 4.59 percentage points for the DTCs since 2008.

Under the Sunday agreement, China's votes increased to 4.42 percent from 2.77 percent, making it the third largest voting power holder in the Washington-based international institution.

Zoellick noted at a news conference that the United States retains the top spot in terms of voting power, followed by Japan.

He said the World Bank must change to recognize new realities as developing countries are becoming key sources of demand for the world to recover from the worst recession in generations, and over time, "they can become multiple poles of growth."