Chinese PM says euro zone woes are ‘temporary’

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao downplayed the euro zone’s economic woes on Tuesday, insisting the single currency will survive its current debt crisis.

Wen made his remarks after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin to discuss trade between the world’s two biggest export nations.

The Chinese PM said “It’s true that some EU countries are encountering economic difficulties. These are, however, only of a temporary nature. The EU is fully in a position to overcome its present challenges.”

China has foreign currency reserves of more than three trillion dollars (two trillion euros) and insists it will continue to buy euro zone debt.

Merkel and Wen also said that they hoped to double annual trade between their two countries to at least 200 billion euros within the next five years.

China is Germany’s third-biggest trading partner, behind France and the Netherlands.

Trade between China and Germany totalled just over 130 billion euros last year.

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