Reuters
Khaleej Times Online
December 29, 2003

Beijing: China will consider cutting Iraq’s debts or writing them off out of humanitarian concern, state radio quoted Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao as saying on Monday.

Wen told the US administration’s special envoy on Iraqi debt, James Baker, that China would consider cutting Iraq’s debts by a large amount, the radio said. He did not elaborate.

China fully understood the difficulty of Iraq’s reconstruction efforts and the plight of the Iraqi people, Wen said.

The radio quoted Baker, a former secretary of state, as saying Iraq’s reconstruction was conducive to world peace and stability. Baker could not be reached for comment.

Later in the day, Chinese President Hu Jintao told Baker that China, together with the international community, would continue to help Iraq’s reconstruction to restore peace and stability as soon as possible, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The United States, struggling with a worsening insurgency in Iraq, sees freeing the country of its estimated $120 billion foreign debt burden as key to helping revive the economy.

President George W. Bush dispatched Baker to major credit nations this month to try to reach an international agreement.

Iraq is the most heavily indebted country in the world in terms of population.