Hoge Chinese ambtenaar bezorgd over Griekenland én andere eurolanden (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - A senior Chinese official entered the debate on the heath of Europe's economy on Thursday (25 March) saying the current crisis surrounding Greece should not be seen as an isolated problem.
"Greece is only one case, but it's only a tip of the iceberg," People's Bank of China Deputy Governor Zhu Min told an investment forum in Hong Kong.
Mr Zhu added that the "main concern today obviously is Spain and Italy," reports Dow Jones Newswires. The comments were made only hours before EU leaders were set to meet in Brussels to discuss economic issues, and a day after fresh turmoil swept through the 16-member eurozone.
On Wednesday, Fitch ratings agency downgraded Portugal's credit worthiness, sending the euro currency to a 10-month low against the dollar and highlighting the region's fragile economic situation.
In Brussels, Chinese diplomats insisted that Beijing was hoping for a quick resolution to Athens' woes, as the Greek administration struggles under a €300 billion debt pile and punishingly high borrowing costs.
"We hope that the fiscal situation in Greece will be properly resolved," a spokesman for the Chinese EU mission, Wang Xining, told this website.
"I don't think he [Mr Zhu] made the remarks to intentionally harm the European economy. I doubt he imagined his comments would be strong enough to do that," Mr Wang added.