Following a phone conversation with Chinese President Hu Jintaom, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a televised interview from the Elysee Palace (October 27) that a decision by China to take part in future Eurozone bailouts should not compromise Europe’s independence.

“If the Chinese, who have 60 percent of global reserves, decide to invest in the euro instead of the dollar, why refuse?” he asked rhetorically, adding, “Why would we not accept that the Chinese have confidence in the eurozone and deposit a part of their surpluses in our funds or in our banks?”

The French leader’s comments came hours after an EU crisis summit in Brussels where ministers agreed to recapitalize European banks, halve Greece’s debt and boost the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) to more than $1 trillion.

Speaking from Beijing, Chinese Central Bank expert Li Daokui told the Financial Times that, “It is in China’s long-term and intrinsic interest to help Europe because they are our biggest trading partner but the chief concern of the Chinese government is how to explain this decision to our own people.”

China’s increasingly informed populace is not expected to welcome the appearance that the country’s new wealth is going to assist troubled Europeans with a deal that could mean job losses for the Chinese.

Many experts think China is likely to demand more intangible returns before dipping into its $3.2 trillion in foreign reserves, the world’s biggest.  These could include a tacit agreement that the EU will not press China to appreciate its currency as the US has been demanding for some time. Washington maintains that China’s weak Yuan makes Chinese products less expensive than similar US-made items.

According to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, in their phone conversation President Sarkozy and President Hu also exchanged views on the upcoming G20 summit in Cannes, France. President Hu called the G20 summit “an important platform for global economic management," adding that it was China’s hope that the summit would convey “an unmistakable signal of growth and stability to the international community,” the agency reported.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing the next day (October 28), Chinese vice finance minister, Zhu Guangyao, and the chief of the EFSF fund, Klaus Regling, sought to play down expectations that China will invest in the European bailout fund but did not rule it out.