As China's economy gets dragged down by a floundering Europe, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao exhorted beleaguered trio Spain, Italy and Greece to get their act together.

Europe is China's biggest trading partner. Even as he pledged that his country will continue to buy more European Union government bonds, Mr Wen said he was worried about the region's worsening sovereign debt crisis.

"The European debt crisis has continued to worsen, giving rise to serious concerns in the international community. Frankly speaking, I am also worried," Mr Wen told reporters yesterday after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He added: "The main worries are two-fold: First is whether Greece will leave the euro zone. The second is whether Italy and Spain will take comprehensive rescue measures. Resolving these problems rests with whether Greece, Spain, Italy and others have the determination for reform."

Mr Wen told Mrs Merkel during the meeting that Spain, Italy and Greece must take "comprehensive measures" to prevent a worsening of the crisis.

China's exports to the EU fell 16.2 per cent in July from a year earlier, with sales to Italy falling 35.8 per cent, according to Chinese customs figures.

Europe's slump is deepening as governments struggle to restore investor confidence and companies eliminate jobs. Economies are stalling or contracting amid concern about a possible Greek exit from the euro and the ability of Spain and Italy to service their debts.

Mr Wen said he was more confident about the euro area after the meeting with Mrs Merkel. "After I heard her views, it increased my confidence," Mr Wen said. "But I must honestly say, the implementation of these measures won't be completely smooth."

China is willing to keep investing in euro-area debt "on condition of fully evaluating the risks", Mr Wen said.

In addition to winning contracts for German companies, Mrs Merkel was trying to convince Mr Wen and other Chinese leaders that the euro region is a good place to invest.

Mrs Merkel said it is "very, very important that we regain confidence in all the countries" of the euro region and thanked China for maintaining confidence in the joint currency.

Mrs Merkel said she told Mr Wen that euro-area nations are overhauling their economies "and that there is an absolute political will in the euro zone to make the euro a stable currency again".

"The crisis is not yet over. But if you look carefully, we have seen an enormous number of changes. Many countries have undertaken reforms and are in the process of implementing them," she said.

TODAY