Europe debt crisis 'at critical juncture': China

Monday, 13 February 2012 13:17

BEIJING: Europe's debt crisis has reached a "critical juncture", Beijing said on Monday, a day ahead of talks between Chinese leaders and European Union officials.

"China is concerned over it. The debt issue is at a critical juncture," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told a press briefing in response to a question about the continent's fiscal woes.

"Apart from contingency measures, they should also push forward structural and long-term reforms."

The crisis will top the agenda when the president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and European Union President Herman van Rompuy meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing on Tuesday.

Barroso and Van Rompuy will also meet China's President Hu Jintao during the summit, which was originally scheduled for October but had to be postponed for emergency talks on the eurozone crisis.

The meetings will take place against a backdrop of unrest in Greece, where lawmakers agreed on a set of drastic austerity measures late Sunday after a long day of street battles between police and protesters left dozens injured.

Markets were cheered by the agreement, with the euro rising in Asian trade on Monday while regional stocks were also higher.

EU leaders have repeatedly appealed to China to invest in the region's debt rescue fund to help it overcome a spiralling debt crisis.