Beijing, Oct 16 (IANS): The European Union debt crisis may end in three years, said Li Daokui, a central bank advisor.

Greece and Portugal may default on their debt repayments, and they will have to tackle long-term structural problems embedded in their economies, Li, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee with the People's Bank of China, said Saturday in a forum held by Tsinghua University.

Germany and France are capable of bailing themselves out by pumping liquidity into banks and other financial institutions through fiscal measures, Xinhua quoted Li as saying.

The advisor said he is more concerned about the economic crisis in the US, which he referred to as "long-term" and "political".

The government's deficit was relatively easy to cope with, but social problems, which have stoked the current spate of unrest in the US, are a thornier issue and more difficult to solve, Li said.

Amid the faltering global economy, Chinese policymakers should deepen economic restructuring and should not do a complete turnaround in macro-economic policies, the advisor said.