China's Hu vows support over EU debt crisis

Feb 15, 2012, 11:56 GMT

Beijing - Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday promised EU leaders that China would continue to support Europe through its debt crisis.

China planned to cooperate with the European Union on policy and to participate in global support over the eurozone debt crisis, state media quoted Hu as saying.

'I believe Europe has the ability and the wisdom to overcome the difficulties,' he told EU President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in Beijing.

'No country can face the complicated global economic situation alone,' Hu said. 'China and Europe should cooperate and help each other.'

Earlier Wednesday, Van Rompuy praised China's 'confidence' in the euro and its 'constructive reaction' to the eurozone debt crisis.

'The Chinese leaders recognize that the economic fundamentals of the euro are strong,' he said at an exhibition on the euro.

'We highly value your confidence,' Van Rompuy said. 'We will consult each other and we will cooperate in a concrete way to ensure the financial stability of the eurozone.'

Speaking at the same event, Zhou Xiaochuan, China's central bank governor, said Beijing 'will not reduce the proportion of euro exposure' in its foreign exchange reserves, which total some 3.2 trillion dollars.

Zhou said the People's Bank of China 'firmly supports' recent measures by the European Central Bank.

He said any expansion of China's role in tackling the EU debt crisis would come via the European Financial Stability Fund and the International Monetary Fund.

Barroso said the eurozone area was at a 'critical juncture' but the EU was 'acting decisively.'

'We have constituted significant firewalls, to the combined tune of 500 billion euros, which are being used to give financial assistance to some member states,' he said.

At an EU-China Summit on Tuesday, Premier Wen Jiabao told Van Rompuy and Barroso that China was 'ready for a bigger part' in tackling the debt crisis.

But Wen and other Chinese leaders have offered no firm commitments during this week's talks.

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.

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