Senior Hong Kong financial officials will join President Hu Jintao's delegation to the G20 summit in Mexico next week when China's leader is expected to spell out his terms for coming to Europe's economic rescue.
Foreign Affairs Vice-Minister Cui Tiankai , who is responsible for preparing China's delegation to Los Cabos, said in an interview in Beijing on Monday that China had already taken precautions for a worst-case scenario in the euro zone.
'A total collapse of the euro zone is very unlikely because no one will benefit from it,' Cui said. 'We have been planning for the worst, but that does not mean the worst will happen.'
Hong Kong's Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah and Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief Norman Chan Tak-lam are expected to join Cui at the summit. They are expected to discuss with other experts in the Chinese delegation their ideas for dealing with any fallout from the euro zone. The two have been briefed by chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying to keep a close watch on the crisis.
Europe's financial difficulties could deteriorate after debt-plagued Greece holds its second general election just a day ahead of summit, and the impact on both the mainland and Hong Kong economies could be severe.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Cui said: 'We need to take some preventive measures and make minor adjustments to our policies from time to time. We should not wait until something very serious happens and then make drastic changes.'
He added that he believed European leaders knew what had to be done to tackle the economic crisis but were divided on where the responsibility for the financial burden lay.