EU/CHINA : BEIJING PLEDGES CONTINUED SUPPORT TO RESOLVE EURO DEBT CRISIS.

China has promised to help resolve the eurozone's debt crisis amid growing trade tensions between the Asian country and the European Union. While Europe is "on the right track" towards tackling its sovereign debt issues, it still needs to implement the measures it recently agreed in order to move forward, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said during the 15th bilateral EU-China summit, on 20 September.

"China will continue to play its part in helping resolve the European debt issue through the appropriate channels," Wen said. Those channels include the purchase by Beijing of European government bonds in recent months, as well as continued dialogue and cooperation with the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

When asked about the amount of European bonds bought by the Chinese so far, an EU official told members of the press that there was no way of knowing, since the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) - which issues bonds and other debt instruments on the capital market to provide financial assistance to eurozone member states - does not make public who buys said bonds. In addition, "there is no clear track record," the official noted, explaining that there were also second and third-hand purchases.

On the European side, both Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Council President Herman Van Rompuy praised China for its support to solve to euro debt crisis. They also reiterated their appreciation for "China's pledge in Los Cabos of US$43 billion to increase IMF resources and create a global firewall".

SYRIA

The parties also discussed the contentious issue of Syria. "We...