China makes 'secret' eurozone commitment
China has made a "secret commitment" to prop up the crisis-hit eurozone in return for budget reforms and public sector cuts, the Sunday Times reported, amid ongoing turmoil over the region's debt crisis.
China has made a "secret commitment" to prop up the crisis-hit eurozone in return for budget reforms and public sector cuts, the Sunday Times reported, amid ongoing turmoil over the region's debt crisis.
The paper said Chinese representatives at the Paris G20 finance gathering on Saturday had indicated that Beijing was willing to pump tens of billions into the eurozone to purchase infrastructure assets from debt-plagued nations.
The Sunday Times, which quoted a source close to the talks, added that Chinese banks could also increase their purchases of eurozone sovereign debt.
"China wants to be sure that Europe knows the size of the hole and that it won't get any bigger before they agree to fill it in," the paper quoted the source as saying.
Europe had vowed to its G20 partners Saturday that it would take swift and decisive action to resolve a debt crisis that is threatening to drag the world economy back into recession.
French finance minister Francois Baroin, speaking after the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers, said the eurozone would present answers as soon as next weekend, at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels on October 23.