China to continue supporting Europe despite crisis

China said on Friday it remains confident in the eurozone and will continue to support the currency, even as the region's deepening debt crisis threatens to engulf Italy and Spain. Foreign minister Yang Jiechi made the comments as markets around the world tumbled on fears the global economy was heading towards recession after more weak US economic data and warnings the European crisis was likely to spread. "China has always had confidence in the eurozone and the euro," Yang told reporters during a visit to Poland, according to a statement on the foreign ministry website. "China has increased its holdings of euro bonds in recent years. It will continue to support Europe and the euro in the future." Beijing has repeatedly expressed its support for debt-laden European countries -- major buyers of Chinese exports -- as it tries to shore up their economies and protect its own investments by maintaining strength in the euro. Yang's comments were similar to those he made in Albania on Wednesday after the US reached a last-minute deal to increase the country's debt ceiling. China signalled then that it would further diversify its massive foreign exchange holdings away from the dollar after the US government pushed through the deal to borrow more money and avoid a catastrophic default. China, sitting on the world's biggest foreign exchange reserves of around $3.2 trillion as of the end of June, is the largest holder of US Treasury bonds. Since the 2008 financial crisis, China's $400-billion sovereign wealth fund -- charged with investing some of the forex stockpile -- has been increasing its holdings in European bonds to get better returns. While exact figures on the size of China's euro holdings are hard to find, analysts estimate its stockpile is relatively small, with most of it in large countries such as Germany and France.