European debt crisis to end in three years: central bank advisor

Sun, Oct16, 2011 | By xinhua

BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The European Union debt crisis will end in three years at the latest, meanwhile the euro will not fall apart and EU countries will be strengthened via reforms, said Li Daokui, a central bank advisor, on Saturday.

Greece and Portugal are sure to default on their debt repayments, and they will have to tackle long-term structural problems imbedded in their economies, Li, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee with the People's Bank of China, said in a forum held by Tsinghua University.

Germany and France are capable of bailing themselves out by pumping liquidity into banks and other financial institutions through fiscal measures, Li said.

The advisor said he is more concerned about the economic crisis in the United States, which he referred to as "long-term" and "political."

The government's deficit was relatively easy to cope with, but social problems, which have stoked the current spate of unrest in the United States, are a thornier issue and more difficult to solve, Li said.

Amid the faltering global economy, Chinese policymakers should deepen economic restructuring and should not do a complete turnaround in macro-economic policies, the advisor said.