Europe will not offer China concessions for aid: Juncker

Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday it made sense for China to invest its surplus in Europe to help the region overcome its debt crisis, but this would not involve political concessions. European leaders agreed a plan last week to restore financial market confidence and end a two-year crisis started by Greece, with a contribution from Beijing if possible.
However, the appeal for Chinese help has come under fierce criticism for potentially weakening Europe''s negotiating position in political and economic disputes with Beijing.
"The fact that China and others might be involved in a comprehensive solution does not make me worry in the slightest, because China has an improbably large surplus so it makes sense for China to invest this in Europe," Juncker told German public broadcaster ARD. "This will not take place in the form of a tight political negotiation assuming that if China invests, we have to give China something back."
Juncker, who is also Luxembourg''s prime minister, said Europe did not need China to solve its crisis. "Even if China and other investors did not participate (in the solution), the decisions that we have made are substantial enough to enable us to overcome the debt crisis on our own."
Regarding Italy, Juncker said the government could not do whatever it wanted but "must act as we have agreed together" and implement further structural reforms and measures to consolidate the budget.
Asked whether the European Central Bank might stop its controversial bond-buying plan, Juncker said there was no direct reason any more for the purchases given that the eurozone''s rescue fund would soon be bolstered. Meanwhile, in an interview in German weekly Bild am Sonntag on the last day of his eight-year stint at the helm of the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet urged eurozone governments to stick to their promises and bring down unsustainable debt piles.
The debt crisis that has crippled Europe in recent months has not been overcome despite a comprehensive package clinched by eurozone leaders, the president of the European Central Bank warned Sunday. "The crisis is not over. It has laid bare the weaknesses of advanced economies. We are now seeing the weaknesses of the US and Japanese economies, but also, of course, Europe''s weaknesses," said Trichet.