China is ready to play a bigger role in resolving the European sovereign debt crisis, Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday.
Speaking to the press with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso after the 14th China-EU leaders' meeting in Beijing, Wen said China's support in helping Europe tackle its debt crisis was 'sincere and determined'.
'China is ready to get more deeply involved in participating in solving the European debt issue,' Wen said.
Early this month, Wen told German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel in Beijing that China was 'considering greater involvement' in efforts to address the debt crisis. Wen said yesterday that China was still expecting the EU to strengthen its internal financial discipline and to send clearer and more 'positive messages' to the outside world, in hopes of bringing China-EU financial co-operation to a deeper level.
Wen made the remarks just one day after Moody's downgraded its credit ratings on Italy, Portugal and Spain. The rating agency also lowered its outlooks for France, Britain and Austria from 'stable' to 'negative'.
The premier also said: 'We need to work together to send a positive, beneficial message to make necessary contributions towards pushing China-EU, and even global, unity and co-operation.'
Van Rompuy said the Chinese and EU economies were 'so interdependent that change in the growth rate in one of the two strategic partners has a direct and palpable impact on the other one'.
