Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met at noon with the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China Zhao Leji, at Maximos Mansion.
During the meeting, they had an overview of bilateral relations and discussed bilateral cooperation, particularly in the fields of the economy, trade, tourism, culture and shipping.
They also exchanged views on EU-China relations. The Prime Minister reiterated Greece’s long-standing position on the need for open channels of communication between the European Union and China on major global challenges such as climate change.
At the same time, he pointed out that Europe’s de-risking strategy aims to ensure the resilience of its supply chains and balance its trade balance.
At the beginning of the meeting Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Zhao Leji had the following dialogue:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: “Mr Chairman, I am very pleased to see you again after my visit to Beijing last year and to have the opportunity to welcome you to Athens.
You know how much importance we attach to the relations between our two countries. It is something that was confirmed again during my recent visit. I now have the opportunity to repay your very kind hospitality.
I want to start by thanking China for supporting Greece’s candidacy for the Security Council for the 2025-26 term. We look forward to working very closely with you to address major global challenges.
I want to welcome the fact that our economic relations are developing steadily, but I believe that we can make more efforts to address the imbalance in the trade balance by facilitating more access for Greek products and companies to the Chinese market.
On the other hand, I want to reiterate that our country provides a safe investment environment for all Chinese companies interested in investing, as long as these investments are in line with national and Community law.
I would also like to stress that Greece today is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, has left behind the difficult times of the economic crisis and we are a country that is firmly committed to attracting investment and creating quality jobs.
And of course, Cosco’s investment in Piraeus contributes to the overall upgrading of the port and its role in the Mediterranean and we expect this investment to create even more new jobs and of course increase local economic activity.
Of course, I remember the visit that we made to the port of Piraeus during the official visit of President Xi Jinping, and since then we have made significant steps towards progress and strengthening the port of Piraeus as one of the most important ports in Europe.
In my next statement I will come back to issues that have to do with our relations regarding culture, trade and tourism, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank you again for your visit to Greece and I understand that you will be in Crete. Crete is my place of origin and I believe that you will see there the depth of Minoan civilization and the many possibilities we have for the strengthening of our cultural relations”.
Zhao Leji (according to the interpretation): Honourable Prime Minister, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to meet again in Athens and first of all let me offer you the greetings and best wishes from President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.
And I have to give you many congratulations because, as a friend of Greece, I am very happy to see that your country under your strong leadership is on a path of strong economic recovery and transformational growth following difficult times.
You mentioned the official visit of President Xi Jinping five years ago. This visit did indeed turn a new page in our relations. And through our efforts, our two countries have formed a model relationship between countries enjoying traditional friendship, meaningful cooperation and cultural dialogues. And yet there is still much room for further development and through my visit I want to confirm and strengthen our relationship in terms of parliamentary cooperation.
