Xi Jinping hails Greece deals as model for Chinese cooperation with Europe
- Chinese president and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sign 16 deals, including extradition treaty and investment agreements
- Greeks promise to ‘overcome any obstacles’ to Chinese firm’s plans to develop Port of Piraeus
Greece has agreed to open up to further investment from China in what President Xi Jinping described as a “model of Sino-European cooperation”.
The two sides signed 16 deals in total on Monday, with Athens offering investors access to its energy, infrastructure and cultural sectors in return for more agricultural exports.
The Chinese leader’s visit comes at a time when his country’s economic activities are facing increased scrutiny across the European Union, but the two leaders struck a positive note on Monday with Xi promising to look at “deeper cooperation with Greece in all sectors”.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also pledged to “overcome any obstacles” facing a Chinese state-owned company’s plan to upgrade the Port of Piraeus and agreed to an extradition treaty between the two sides – a move seen as helpful to Xi’s anti-corruption drive.
China has been putting pressure on Greece to fully accept the plan by state-owned shipping giant Cosco to expand the Port of Piraeus, which is on track to become the busiest container port in the Mediterranean.