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EU De Gucht: China Buying Debt Helps, But EU Must Solve Crisis Itself
-- Chinese minister has pledged to keep buying E.U. debt, says E.U. Trade Commissioner
-- China is "welcome" to buy debt, but the E.U. must resolve its sovereign debt crisis itself
-- Greece can avoid a default; the E.U.'s plan for Greece "is not a default plan"
(Recasts the opening paragraph; adds background in second paragraph, quotes in third, fifth and sixth paragraphs, further details of the De Gucht-Chen meeting in the fourth paragraph, and a comment from Chen on trade remedies in the final paragraph.)
By Owen Fletcher
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
BEIJING (Dow Jones)--China buying European Union sovereign debt "certainly helps" the bloc amid its sovereign debt woes, but the E.U. must resolve its debt crisis itself, E.U. Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said Thursday.
The remarks come after Fitch Ratings slashed Greece's issuer default ratings four notches deeper into junk territory, saying the move reflected the absence of a new, fully funded and credible E.U.-International Monetary Fund aid program.
"The solution of the problem, of this sovereign debt crisis, lies in Europe, it does not lie in China," De Gucht said at a news briefing in Beijing. "If they (China) engage in the sovereign debt market they are more than welcome, but what we will have to do is take the appropriate decisions in Europe itself."
Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming pledged in a meeting with De Gucht to keep buying E.U. sovereign debt, De Gucht said, without giving details. The two officials met Thursday and discussed trade and investment ties, including a possible bilateral investment treaty.
De Gucht also said Greece can avoid a default, but didn't elaborate. The support plan E.U. officials are devising for Greece "is not a default plan," he said.
"I trust that we will manage this" crisis, he said. "I'm a little bit surprised that Europe is criticized for...the way that they handled the crisis. I would rather say that up to now, Europe has been giving the right answers, of course always within political limits."
De Gucht said E.U. officials are watching developments in the U.S., but didn't comment on Moody's Investors Service putting U.S government bonds on watch for a possible credit rating downgrade.
De Gucht also said China should have issued its rare-earth export quotas for the second half of 2011 earlier, because the industry needs "predictability." China announced the quotas Thursday.
Separately, Chen on Thursday said China is deeply concerned over the E.U.'s trade remedies, especially its anti-subsidy measures.
-- Chinese minister has pledged to keep buying E.U. debt, says E.U. Trade Commissioner
-- China is "welcome" to buy debt, but the E.U. must resolve its sovereign debt crisis itself
-- Greece can avoid a default; the E.U.'s plan for Greece "is not a default plan"
(Recasts the opening paragraph; adds background in second paragraph, quotes in third, fifth and sixth paragraphs, further details of the De Gucht-Chen meeting in the fourth paragraph, and a comment from Chen on trade remedies in the final paragraph.)
By Owen Fletcher
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
BEIJING (Dow Jones)--China buying European Union sovereign debt "certainly helps" the bloc amid its sovereign debt woes, but the E.U. must resolve its debt crisis itself, E.U. Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said Thursday.
The remarks come after Fitch Ratings slashed Greece's issuer default ratings four notches deeper into junk territory, saying the move reflected the absence of a new, fully funded and credible E.U.-International Monetary Fund aid program.
"The solution of the problem, of this sovereign debt crisis, lies in Europe, it does not lie in China," De Gucht said at a news briefing in Beijing. "If they (China) engage in the sovereign debt market they are more than welcome, but what we will have to do is take the appropriate decisions in Europe itself."
Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming pledged in a meeting with De Gucht to keep buying E.U. sovereign debt, De Gucht said, without giving details. The two officials met Thursday and discussed trade and investment ties, including a possible bilateral investment treaty.
De Gucht also said Greece can avoid a default, but didn't elaborate. The support plan E.U. officials are devising for Greece "is not a default plan," he said.
"I trust that we will manage this" crisis, he said. "I'm a little bit surprised that Europe is criticized for...the way that they handled the crisis. I would rather say that up to now, Europe has been giving the right answers, of course always within political limits."
De Gucht said E.U. officials are watching developments in the U.S., but didn't comment on Moody's Investors Service putting U.S government bonds on watch for a possible credit rating downgrade.
De Gucht also said China should have issued its rare-earth export quotas for the second half of 2011 earlier, because the industry needs "predictability." China announced the quotas Thursday.
Separately, Chen on Thursday said China is deeply concerned over the E.U.'s trade remedies, especially its anti-subsidy measures.
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