“China pursues its own interests by offering help to Europe” – economist

28 Jun, 2011 14:29 / Updated 13 years ago

In trying to help the eurozone, China is not driven by altruism, but is pursuing its own interests, believes Jean-Francois Di Meglio, president of the Asia Center think tank in Paris.

“China has always done things gradually pursuing its own interests. Its premier is once again touring Europe and trying […] to diversify the assets of China,” the economist told RT.“China has the capacity [to pull the eurozone out of the crisis]. Now, does it have the real will and can China really do it in a short amount of time? The answer is probably no,” he also stressed.Quite unexpectedly China has announced its plans to step in to help prop up the euro. The Asian giant is offering to open up its mammoth US$3 trillion in foreign reserves to buy up European debt. Premier Wen Jiabao made the offer during his tour of Europe.It is widely believed Beijing, which has been accumulating cash faster than it can spend it, has decided to diversify away from US debt. But the move has prompted fears the economic sovereignty of the EU could be compromised.Meanwhile, some critics even suggest the ongoing currency war between the US and China is the real motivation behind the offer.