Greek PM heading to China to meet President on big business hunt

With Greece returned to investment-grade status after a long economic crisis – drawing the attention of international companies – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be in China on Nov. 3 for a quick-hit visit seeking trade and business.

He is to meet the political hierarchy as well, President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Qiang and the Chairman of the National People’s Congress, Zhao Leji, who had extended the invitation to come.

China’s Ambassador to Greece Xiao Junzheng told an Athens audience at the 10th anniversary of the Belt & Road Initiative designed to give China a bigger foothold in the European Union that investors are especially keen on energy.

Greece has been particularly close to China despite EU wariness the Chinese want to gain too big a foothold in the bloc and are infiltrating telecommunications with Chinese technology and cell phones viewed as spyware by critics.

But Mitsotakis, speaking at an event organized by The Economist earlier in the Greek capital, said that,“China is not a major investor for Greece, given that it has only made one major investment in the port of Piraeus years ago, which was certainly successful overall,” but is still eager for investors.

He was referring to the Chinese management firm COSCO which runs the port of Piraeus as the majority stakeholder and has resurrected the once dormant operation into one of the best in the EU.

Greece said it sees itself as a bridge between China and the rest of the EU although a Chinese plan to improve a railway between Piraeus and Greece’s northern border to other countries has stalled.

Mitsotakis will be accompanied by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Staikouras, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, in charge of Economic Affairs, Costas Fragogiannis.

Besides business and trade, Greece is keen on getting more Chinese tourists with Greece on a path for a record-busting year and wanting to keep foreign visitors coming year-round, not just in the summer.

Mitsotakis will be a kind of broker between the EU – although he said he wouldn’t veer from his stances – and China, the bloc wanting to lessen dependence in China in a number of areas, noted EURACTIV.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/greek-pm-visits-beijing-amid-fragile-eu-china-balances/

Dutch Foreign Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher earlier complained that some EU countries, including Greece, are too dependent on China and muddling how it should be dealt with.

“Take, for example, the Greek port of Piraeus, owned by a Chinese state-owned company. That also makes an effective China policy more difficult in the European context because, in this case, Greece is dependent on China,” she added about Greek-Chinese ties.

At the Economist event, Mitsotakis said “If you look at the pattern of foreign direct investment into Greece, Greece is certainly not dependent on Chinese capital,” rebutting criticism.

“Greece is very much defined in terms of its strategic partnerships and its alliances as a member of NATO, but also as a member of the European Union. Having said that, we have bilateral relations with China,” he explained.

Junzheng said China also wants to work with Greece to set up joint research laboratories in agriculture, food security, and the use of laser technology to protect cultural goods. Greece is often flooded with counterfeit products.

China also plans to create the Alliance of Cities on the Silk Road for Tourism, and looks forward to Greece’s participation, aiming to attract more Chinese tourists to Greece, it was said.

Read more at thenationalherald.com

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