Bilateral ties with China reaffirmed

Highlighting the strong bilateral ties between the two countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed the hope that “Greece will continue to play a creative role” in developing Sino-European relations, after meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Beijing on Friday.

According to the Xinhua news agency, Xi said that “the healthy development of China-EU relations cannot be achieved without independence, mutual respect and mutually beneficial cooperation.”

Greek government sources said Mitsotakis echoed the same sentiments, reiterating Greece’s firm position on the need for open channels of communication between the EU and China while underscoring that it is of mutual interest for this relationship to be constructive and stable. The same sources noted that Mitsotakis underlined that Greece can serve as a bridge in this relationship, voicing his strong belief that Europe needs strategic autonomy to face global geopolitical challenges.

Xinhua, which devoted an extensive report to Xi’s comments, emphasized that Greece and China are cooperating within the framework of the Chinese “Belt and Road” project. In addition, Beijing wants to increase synergies and deepen cooperation “in the fields of transport, shipping, energy, telecommunications and finance,” as well as expand opportunities for cooperation “in the green economy, digital economy, scientific and technological innovation.” The Chinese president stated that “mutually beneficial cooperation and cultural exchanges are two main links in Greek-Chinese relations.”

Xi also expressed the hope that there would be “impetus for a long-term, stable and sustainable development of the port of Piraeus.”

The Chinese leader also conveyed Beijing’s support for strengthening ties between the two peoples and cultural exchange mechanisms such as the Chinese and Greek Ancient Civilizations Center and the Ancient Civilizations Forum.

Mitsotakis described the port of Piraeus as “a successful investment for both sides and we look forward to its further expansion,” adding, “There is significant scope to improve our trade relations so that more Greek products enter the Chinese market and more Chinese visitors visit Greece.”

Special reference was also made to the upgrading of the Greek economy to investment grade by Chinese companies and to investment opportunities in Greece.

Mitsotakis also referred to the important role that China can play in maintaining international peace and resolving global crises, such as the war in Ukraine, as a permanent member of the Security Council.