Global economic turmoil could persist for "a long time to come", Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao warned Friday, saying that recovery in some developed nations lacked momentum.

China has become a key driver of the global economy in recent years and has been courted by top European officials looking to bolster a fund set up to support troubled economies.

Beijing has the world's largest foreign exchange reserves at $3.2 trillion, but has so far made no firm commitment to provide financial assistance for the eurozone.

"The global economy may experience uncertainty and instability for a long time to come," Wen said at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.

"The world is undergoing profound and complex changes. The international financial crisis has entered its fourth year, and the current global economic and financial scene still gives no reason for optimism," he said.

"Economic recovery in some developed countries lacks momentum, and those countries are plagued by serious financial and debt crises," Wen added in a reference to the eurozone.

But he said that despite relatively strong growth, the developing world still had to address fundamental problems.

"Emerging and developing countries are ascending on the world stage, but taken as a whole, they are still not strong enough," he said.

"Social turbulence has erupted in west Asia and north Africa. Global food, energy and environmental challenges pose a growing threat to the sustainable development of mankind."

China is ASEAN's biggest trading partner, with two-way trade expected to surpass $350 billion this year, Wen said.

Beijing is concerned about inflation, but said this week it will "fine-tune" monetary policy amid "global systemic risks", raising hopes of a relaxation in credit after growth slowed to 9.1 percent.

China sovereign fund buys CCB shares from BoA
Beijing (AFP) Nov 18, 2011 - China's sovereign wealth fund has announced it purchased part of Bank of America's holdings in China Construction Bank (CCB) in a deal worth $1.75 billion.

The embattled US banking giant announced on Monday that it would sell the bulk of its shares in the Chinese bank -- a move that strengthens its capital base and helps it move towards building a strong balance sheet.

In a short statement, China Investment Corporation (CIC) said it had bought 2.76 billion CCB shares after Bank of America sold them, "with a total transaction volume of $1.75 billion".

"CIC has fulfilled all legal obligations including disclosure in compliance with relevant regulatory requirements in Hong Kong," it said on Thursday.

In August, Bank of America had already sold roughly half of its 10 percent share in CCB for $8.3 billion, strengthening its capital base and better implementing tougher standards imposed by global regulators.

It said Monday that it would continue to hold about one percent of the common shares of CCB, underscoring that the two banks' strategic partnership remains intact.

The North Carolina-based bank is under pressure to reduce its investments in order to strengthen its capital base and meet new international capital standards.

It has struggled to recover from the 2008 financial meltdown and its disastrous acquisition of troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, which has resulted in lawsuits after the crash of the US housing market.

Investors have been dumping the US bank's stock amid fears that its legal woes and the sluggish US economy would prevent it from raising enough capital to meet the Basel III standards imposed after the financial crisis.

Under the rules, which are being implemented in phases from 2013 to 2019, banks need to reduce their debt-to-capital ratios and can no longer count certain kinds of risky assets as their base capital.