China said today it was a 'long-term investor' in the European debt market and hoped euro zone nations would achieve stable growth, as Greece teetered on the brink of defaulting on its loans.
'China is a long-term investor in the European securities market,' foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.
'We hope Greece can realise stability and development through cooperation between the EU and the international community. We hope the relevant countries will realise stable economic growth,' he added.
Greece warned yesterday it would be unable to pay next month's bills without a €12 billion loan installment from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, part of a broader €110 billion bail-out agreed last year.
China has repeatedly expressed its confidence in the euro zone economies, and has invested an increasing portion of its world-leading foreign exchange reserves in euro-denominated assets.
Since December, China has pledged to buy government bonds from struggling Spain, Greece and Portugal.
