German leader calls for greater political and economic ties with China

BEIJING - German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the euro while asking for more time to solve the debt crisis in Europe, during a speech at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on Thursday.

"As our common currency, the euro has made Europe stronger, and Germany itself has benefited from the currency ... The European Union, especially those states that have adopted the euro, has made considerable progress in the last two years," Merkel said.

"The common currency must be defended together (by the countries in EU)," said Merkel, responding to doubts over the EU's ability to overcome the difficulties.

The fiscal compact treaty signed by 25 EU members in Brussels on Jan 30 at the latest EU summit will help ease the debt crisis in Europe, she added.

The treaty will require governments to introduce laws on balanced budgets and impose near-automatic sanctions on countries that violate the deficit rules.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech on the global economy and Sino-German relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing on Thursday. Du Yang / China News Agency