Partnership with Europe could create economic engine to trigger growth, bank chairman says

A top Chinese banker has expressed deep concerns about the worsening debt crisis in Greece and the unstable exchange rate of the euro, as China quickens its pace of cooperation with European partners.

"Recently, the Greek debt crisis and the unstable exchange rate of the euro have raised our concern again," Tian Guoli, chairman of Bank of China, said during an interview ahead of Premier Li Keqiang's European tour. "We sincerely hope the euro, as well as the financial markets in Europe, can be stabilized."

Tian said the yuan and euro can play a stabilizing role and help foster a safe and reliable finance environment.

In recent years, as the yuan has become more international, its exchange rate has been steady, and last month the G7 finance ministers proposed that the yuan should be included in the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights basket.

"The yuan can act to stabilize Eurasian finance," Tian said.

Tian urged China and the European Union to join hands and deepen their economic and trade cooperation through support of each other's currency. That would make the yuan and the euro double stabilizers that could anchor the financial environment in the Asia-Europe region.

Tian said Bank of China will sign a memorandum of understanding for a strategic partnership with Belgium's largest public credit insurer, Ducroire, during Li's visit on Monday.

During the recent weeklong state visit of the Belgian royal couple to China, the bank signed a strategic MOU with Schreder Group, an international lighting manufacturer in Belgium, in the presence of President Xi Jinping and King Philippe.

"The EU-China partnership should play a role as an economic engine to trigger growth in Eurasia," Tian said. "The bank should play a role as a double booster in support of the financial industry, as well as bridging the markets."

Tian said the banking sector has a significant role to play in combining China and the EU into a single community of common interest and destiny.

Founded in Beijing in 1912, Bank of China is now one of the country's five largest commercial banks. It has been committed to the European market for more than 80 years, since the first European branch opened in 1929 in London.

In addition to providing banking services to European multinationals, it has actively participated in the construction of the local financial market.

The bank recently joined the London Bullion Market, the auction that sets gold and silver prices, and said it made its first sales of gold to customers on June 22.

It is also a specialized bank that set up a worldwide yuan payment and clearing network. As the largest market share owner of the cross-border yuan business, BOC has assisted the UK and France in issuing renminbi-denominated sovereign bonds, increasing the opportunity for investors to enjoy the fruits of China's economic growth.

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