China hopes that Europe will take steps to protect China’s investments there, Chinese President Hu Jintao told the French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday, nonetheless voicing confidence in the euro and vowing to keep investing in it. Sarkozy, making a brief visit to Beijing, in turn pressed Hu for China’s support for his G20 agenda. “China is concerned about the impact of the euro debt crisis, hopes that the European economy can maintain stability, and hopes that the countries concerned can achieve success in their financial reforms,” Hu told Sarkozy, according to Chinese television news.
“China has confidence in the European economy and the euro, and we are sure that Europe has the wisdom and ability to surmount its current hardships and maintain economic stability and growth,” said Hu. “China will continue making Europe one of its principle investment markets, and we hope that Europe will take measures to ensure the security of Chinese investments there.” With about a quarter of China’s record foreign currency reserves of more than $3 trillion held in euro assets, Beijing has been unsettled by the threat to the euro, even as Chinese leaders have said they believe Europe can surmount its woes. Along with Germany, France has resisted calls from other countries in the euro zone to expand the zone’s 440 billion euro bailout fund and introduce joint issuance of bonds by countries in the bloc as ways to address the crisis. Sarkozy came to Beijing with his own agenda of seeking China’s renewed support for France’s plans for the G20 summit of major developed and developing economies that it will host in October.
