The European Union still needs steady support from major Asian creditors such as China and Japan even with Europe's permanent bailout fund going into operation on Monday, its managing director said.

"I am confident that the relationship with traditional and good Asian customers will continue when ESM issues bonds," Klaus Regling told a news conference after the first board meeting of the European Stability Mechanism.

Responding to a question from China Daily, Regling said "traditional and good" Asian countries had on average purchased 40 percent of bonds issued by the ESM's predecessor, the European Financial Stability Fund.

Regling declined to quantify Asian countries' bond investments. However, other data have shown that Chinese and Japanese institutions were major buyers.

There are no imminent plans for the ESM to issue bonds, but once it does, Asian countries will likely continue their previous level of European-bond investing, Regling said.

"I am delighted to announce that the ESM has been formally inaugurated today," said Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the Eurogroup — composed of the euro zone countries' finance ministers —and chairman of the ESM's board of governors. "The euro area is now equipped with a permanent and effective firewall, which is a crucial component in our comprehensive strategy to ensure financial stability in the euro area."

Regling called Monday's rollout of the 500 billion-euro ($652 billion) ESM a milestone toward creating financial stability among the 17 states that use the euro currency.

"With a robust and transparent capital structure and a variety of financial-assistance instruments, the ESM stands ready to fulfill its mission and to provide assistance to member states subject to appropriate conditionality," he said.

The ESM is a permanent "firewall" meant to preserve financial stability in the euro zone by providing emergency help to troubled members through the issuance of bonds or other debt instruments on behalf of the entire zone. It is also backed by the European Central Bank, which represents the entire 27-member European Union.

Officials in the euro zone have expressed hope that the ESM's very existence would reassure markets of the political will to keep the European monetary union intact, despite current crises in Greece and Spain.

Contact the writer at fujing@chinadaily.com.cn