Greek official: Xi’s upcoming visit to Greece to usher in bright future for bilateral cooperation

By Ye Qi, Hua Fang

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Greece is bound to bring China-Greece relations onto a new level and usher in a bright future for cooperation between the two countries, said Adonis Georgiadis, Greek Minister of Development and Investments during an interview with People’s Daily.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece, led a delegation to the second China International Import Expo which kicked off on Nov.5 in Shanghai, to further boost the economic and trade exchanges between the two countries, Georgiadis introduced.

The minister expressed his gratitude to the Chinese companies for their active investment in and great support for Greece when the country was in a major crisis.

The Chinese-invested Piraeus Port project in Greece has achieved huge success and set an example of cooperation between China and Greece, providing experiences for other European countries, said Georgiadis.

China’s investment in Greece has brought about win-win results, said Georgiadis, explaining that Chinese companies have not only turned the Piraeus Port into one of the first-rate ports in the Mediterranean region and revitalized Greek economy, but also enabled Chinese products to enter Europe in a more convenient way and at a more competitive price.

China and Greece also maintain a close cooperation in such fields as energy and shipping, and have witnessed remarkable results and growing momentum of cooperation, Georgiadis noted.

Today, Greece enjoys stable economic and social development and is constantly improving investment environment, Georgiadis stressed, disclosing that the Greek government is actively upgrading and renovating the country’s infrastructure in an effort to create a better environment, which is believed to generate new opportunities for cooperation between Greek and Chinese enterprises.

Chinese companies are welcomed to invest in Greece so as to give impetus to Greece’s development, constantly deepen bilateral cooperation in such areas as economy, trade, investment, and finance, and help the two countries achieve mutually beneficial and win-win results, said Georgiadis.

Greece has been the first developed country in Europe to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China to jointly advance the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This year, Greece joined the cooperation mechanism between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, which will bring about broader cooperation between the two countries.

Despite the current complicated international situation, Greece and China will continue strengthening cooperation and treasuring broad common interests and vast space for cooperation, no matter what difficulties they might encounter, said Georgiadis, adding that Greece will make better use of the opportunities presented by the joint construction of the BRI.

It is believed that President Xi’s forthcoming visit to Greece will yield more fruitful results in the cooperation in various fields between the two countries, Georgiadis said.

Source: People’s Daily