China in Talks With Italy as Lender

China has not sold off, either, however, as many others have, according to a European Union (EU) source in the report, who was quoted saying, “They are not exiting the market. They are among the few who are still there. We are relying on the ECB and the Chinese.” Indeed, the country hopes to benefit from largesse to troubled European nations and perhaps offset calls for it to allow its exchange rate to appreciate more quickly.

Nicholas Zhu, head of macro-commodity research for Asia at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in Shanghai and formerly an economist at the World Bank, was quoted in the report saying, “It’s a clear pattern of China’s intention to help stabilize the euro area. The benefit to China is that it will help in the perception of host countries if China is viewed as a responsible stakeholder in the global community.”

Premier Wen Jiabao, who will speak at the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China on Wednesday, could discuss the European debt crisis although perhaps not China’s possible role in assisting the euro zone. Economists’ expectations about the speech may not be high, however. Tim Condon, head of Asia research at ING Groep NV in Singapore, was quoted saying, “I don’t expect him to say that China will underwrite the euro zone, hopes for which have episodically boosted prices of risk assets this year. I expect he will utter comforting generalities about underlying economic strength and ability to resolve the debt problems.”