China welcomes consensus reached at EU debt talks

Beijing, with its big holdings of European sovereign debt, is one of the main bystanders waiting to see if Europe can provide debt relief for Greece, which risks a default that could trigger a deeper crisis in Italy and other bigger euro zone economies.

After a summit in Brussels, European governments announced an agreement under which private banks and insurers would accept 50 percent losses on their Greek debt holdings in the latest bid to reduce Athens' massive debt load to sustainable levels.

In a telephone conversation with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday, President Hu Jintao said that he hopes Europe's deal to tackle the sovereign debt crisis will help the region's economic recovery, China's state television reported.
For more: China welcomes consensus reached at EU debt talks | Reuters