EU welcomes China's "positive attitude" to eurozone debt

Feb 14, 2012, 13:27 GMT

Beijing - Premier Wen Jiabao expressed a 'positive attitude' towards efforts to stabilize the eurozone and said China was 'ready for a bigger part' in tackling the European Union debt crisis, Chinese and EU officials said after talks on Tuesday.

'We welcome the positive attitude and engagement,' EU President Herman Van Rompuy said after talks with Wen on the eurozone crisis during the 14th EU-China Summit in Beijing.

'We also welcome China's readiness to enhance our consultation and cooperation on the stability of the eurozone,' Van Rompuy told reporters.

Wen said China was 'ready for a bigger part' in tackling the EU debt crisis and would 'forge closer communication and coordination' on the issue with EU officials.

Van Rompuy said EU officials 'explained the major reforms undertaken by the euro area' to tackle the sovereign debt crisis, support the stability of the eurozone and promote economic growth.

He said they told China that EU leaders were 'fully committed to solve the current situation' and paid tribute to Greek leaders for supporting an EU-backed bailout.

State media earlier quoted Lou Jiwei, head of the sovereign fund China Investment Corporation, as saying China was reluctant to invest in European debt and saw better investment prospects in infrastructure and industry.

European government debt was 'not good enough' for long-term investors, the China Securities Journal quoted Lou as saying at a conference on Monday.

The two sides said they made 'important progress' after Wen met Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso for Tuesday's summit.

'The EU and China have entered definitely into the age of inter-dependence,' Van Rompuy said. 'Our objective is to continue to turn our growing inter-dependence into mutual opportunities.'

He told Wen of the EU's 'deep concern on the Iranian nuclear programme' and that sanctions were designed to 'bring Tehran back to the negotiating table.'

'We have also discussed the situation Syria, which remains a matter of great concern for the EU,' he said.

The European Union welcomed the 'strong commitment and leadership' that the Arab League had taken on Syria and urged UN Security Council members to 'act responsibly in this crucial moment,' Van Rompuy said.

Questioned at a joint press conference with Van Rompuy, Wen defended China's policies in Tibetan areas, where police have tightened security following a series of anti-government protests this year.

The protests, including several self-immolations by Buddhist monks and lay Tibetans, 'have no popular support,' Wen said, adding that Tibetans were 'our brothers.'

Van Rompuy said he planned to hold evening talks with Wen on East Asian security - expected to focus on North Korea - as well as Myanmar, climate change and cooperation in the Group of 20 (G20) leading world economies.

Van Rompuy and Barroso also planned to meet President Hu Jintao and Vice-Premier Li Keqiang, EU officials said.

Chinese state media said the talks took place against the backdrop of 'growing global economic uncertainty and the spreading euro debt crisis.'

Xing Hua of the Beijing-based China Institute of International Studies said China wanted to avoid risky investments and was likely to wait until the European Stability Mechanism replaced the European Financial Stability Facility as the EU's bailout fund in July.

'We hope first to see the EU countries show more confidence in the EFSF and ESM ... and guarantee their support for those two funds,' Xing told dpa before the summit.

Ratings firm Moody's on Monday lowered its credit ratings for Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia, and gave a 'negative' outlook for France, Britain and Austria.

The downgrades reflected those European economies' 'susceptibility to the growing financial and macroeconomic risks emanating from the euro area crisis,' Moody's said.

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