Li Keqiang, who is expected to become China’s next premier when the leadership is changed two years from now, has committed China to buying more Spanish government bonds, in spite of the eurozone’s unresolved sovereign debt crisis.
Mr Li’s promise, made shortly before a visit to Spain, Britain and Germany, is the latest example of Chinese diplomatic overtures to the financially fragile nations of the eurozone periphery.
“China is a responsible, long-term investor in the European and particularly Spanish financial markets, and we have confidence in Spain’s financial market,” Mr Li, vice-premier, wrote on Monday in El País, a leading Spanish newspaper.