Ancient Civilizations Forging New Ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Greece on November 10-12, at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Prokopis Pavlopoulos. This marked another important European visit by Xi for the year, and also the first visit by a Chinese president in 11 years.

Xi’s visit has important historical significance for advancing China-greece relations and will give new impetus to China-european Union (EU) relations as well as the two sides’ cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative.

Greece took part in the Second China International Import Expo in Shanghai as a guest country of honor in early November, with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis leading his country’s delegation. Xi met with Mitsotakis at the expo and they visited the Greek booth together.

Xi’s visit to Greece just a few days later showed the two countries’ increasingly intimate relationship.

As two ancient civilizations, China and Greece have enjoyed a long-term friendship. The two countries have shown mutual understanding and support on major issues concerning each other’s core interests. Greece was among the first EU countries to sign a Belt and Road intergovernmental cooperation document with China. In addition, Kyriakos Mitsotakis has taken part in the First and Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in 2017 and 2019, respectively.

The two sides have conducted effective cooperation under the principle of mutual benefit, while bilateral investment and trade have continuously increased. The Port of Piraeus, located about 10 km southwest of the Greek capital Athens, has become a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative after China Ocean Shipping Co. acquired a majority stake in the port and formally took over its management and operations in 2016. The project has made important contributions to local economic growth.

The two countries have also developed people-to-people and cultural exchanges. In April, Greece became a full member of the Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, a mechanism previously involving 17 countries established in 2012, taking the number to 18. The move will bring new opportunities to the mechanism and boost China-europe relations and interconnectivity.

The contemporary world is undergoing transformations not seen in 100 years. Under such a backdrop, China and Greece both face the task of achieving development and prosperity with the end-goal of national rejuvenation. The two countries can provide mutual insight to help each other address problems and challenges. Xi’s visit showed Chinese civilization’s respect and appreciation of its Greek counterpart and China’s willingness to build a community with a shared future for humanity. The visit will take bilateral cooperation to a new level and further promote China-europe relations.