Greece sees potential in economic cooperation with China

ATHENS - The strong potential to further promote economic cooperation between Greece and China was reiterated by Greek officials and representatives of Chinese companies operating in Greece during an event held in Athens on Monday evening to celebrate the traditional Chinese Spring Festival.

On the occasion of the Chinese New Year of the Horse, Chinese Ambassador to Greece Zou Xiaoli and a dozen of Chinese enterprises held a celebration in central Athens which was attended by several Greek officials.

Addressing the event on behalf of the Greek government, Development and Competitiveness Minister Costis Hatzidakis hailed the excellent bilateral collaboration of the past years and expressed confidence that it would expand and deepen in coming years.

"The presence of many businessmen already active in Greece is a solid proof of the common interests that unite the two business communities," he said, referring to examples of successful cooperation so far.

"I firmly believe that there is much room for further extending our economic relations," he stressed.

The combination of Greece's advantages, its strategic location and skilled human capital with China's penetration to global markets and its competitive production cost, could be used to benefit both countries and people, he argued.

On its part, Greece today, as it is exiting the debt crisis, provides the political stability and improved economic conditions needed to further grow bilateral cooperation, Hatzidakis assured.

The strong belief in the new era of cooperation between Greece and China in many fields in the future was also underlined by Ambassador Zou and representatives of Chinese companies in their remarks.

"The Year of the Horse is not only about good wishes, but also about action and striving," Ambassador Zou noted in his welcome speech, pointing to recent developments and elements which show both countries' willingness and determination to act to promote ties.

The Chinese ambassador referred to the bilateral meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Greek President Karolos Papoulias in Sochi on Feb 7, during which the two sides agreed to expand cooperation in the fields of the Piraeus port, railway transport, ship building, trade, maritime matters, tourism and culture among others.

Ambassador Zou also noted that this week in Beijing in a key step towards this direction, Chinese and Greek officials will formally launch the mechanism for investment cooperation between the two governments which will be the first such mechanism since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972.

"China always supports Greece's huge efforts in the fields of reform and development. We attach great importance to the significant role that Greece plays in EU and regional issues. We are firmly confident in the bright future of Sino-Greece cooperation," Ambassador Zou stressed.

Addressing the event on behalf of the Chinese enterprises active in Greece Fu Chengqiu, General Manager of Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT), extended thanks to the Greek and Chinese government, local organizations, customers and business partners "for providing us with the best business environment in Greece", and to the Greek people "for their friendliness."

Currently, Chinese enterprises have created nearly 2,000 direct and indirect employment positions in Greece and are seeing more investment opportunities in the country, Fu said.

"With the deepening of economic changes between Greece and China, Chinese enterprises will bring more employment opportunities for Greece, and enhance its international competitiveness, and make greater contribution to the Greek economic prosperity," he pledged.

During the event, representatives of several Chinese companies operating in Greece made brief presentations of their activities up to today and prospects for further investments and cooperation with Greek entrepreneurs.