Asian stocks have risen after a report in the Financial Times said that China was considering buying Italian assets.
However, early gains were limited by concerns that any purchase would only ease rather than solve the European debt crisis.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index added 0.7%, while Australia's ASX gained 0.5%.
The climb came after US stocks rebounded in the late afternoon on Monday, trimming earlier heavy losses.
The Financial Times newspaper reported that Lou Jiwei, the chairman of China Investment Corporation, had met with Italian finance minister Giulio Tremonti and other officials last week.
As well as buying bonds, the FT said the talks in Rome also touched on the idea of buying investments in "strategic" Italian companies.
"This has been the kind of good news the markets have been lookig for," Mark Young of Fitch Ratings told the BBC's Asia Business Report.
However, Mr Young warned that "it does not address the basic debt issues. They still need to find a long-term solution to those".
