Wen to visit Europe amid debt crisis

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will visit Hungary, Britain and Germany from next week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, while urging deficit-troubled Greece and the European Union to achieve "stability".

Wen's latest visit to Europe from June 24 to 28 will come months after he visited France, Portugal and Spain, and offered to help European economies overcome their debt-driven crises.

Markets will watch keenly for how Wen addresses those economic expectations this time.

In announcing Wen's visit, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei gave no specifics of what will be on the agenda in talks with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

But the debt crisis afflicting Greece and dragging down the euro is likely to overshadow Wen's visit, and Hong voiced both concern and support for Europe's efforts to surmount the crisis.

"We hope that Greece, the European Union and the international community can cooperate to achieve stability and development," Hong said in an unprompted comment about Greece.

"We're confident that the euro zone countries will be able to achieve stable growth," he added.

Copyright Reuters, 2011