Vlădescu: We'd better seal a precautionary agreement with China rather than IMF

Romania should consider a 3-4bn-euro precautionary arrangement, which it should seal with China, the financial powerhouse of the moment, and which should be focused on investment projects, and not on reform programmes like in the case of the agreement with the IMF, maintains Sebastian Vlădescu, former finance minister.
“If nothing dramatic happens in the euro zone, Romania can easily borrow from the market, it no longer needs money from the IMF. Major adjustments have been done, now we should start building, and opening a relationship with China at a governmental level could be of great help to us. This should be an action direction for Romania’s political and economic diplomacy”.
He believes an agreement could be negotiated through which, in case of need, China should buy Romanian bonds worth 3-4bn euros, and a series of infrastructure projects such as Transportation Corridor IX that should cross Moldova toward the south of the country or Bucharest’s complete orbital road should be accomplished with Chinese companies.
As regards the relationship with the IMF, Romania should fight for a flexible line of credit, and not for a precautionary arrangement.