By Michalis Psilos

 

Reception for the National Day of China on the occasion of the celebration of the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, was held on September 26 by the Chinese Embassy, in Athens.

 

 

The Greek government was represented by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, responsible for economic diplomacy, Costas Fragogiannis. Also present were the Minister of Development Konstantinos Skrekas, the former President of the Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos, the former Prime Minister Giorgos Papandreou, the former President of the Academy of Athens Michael - Konstantinos Stathopoulos, the president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee Spyros Kapralos and many representatives from circles of shipping ,science and technology, culture, media, members of foreign diplomatic missions and representatives of the Chinese community in Greece.

 

 

In his speech, Ambassador Xiao Junzheng emphasized that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the 5th anniversary since the signing of the Belt and Road cooperation agreement by our governments. Currently, China COSCO Shipping’s project at the Port of Piraeus, the investment and cooperation projects by the State Grid of China and the CHN Energy Group, among other projects in Greece, are progressing smoothly. The 4th meeting of the steering committee for identifying the key areas of our Three-Year Cooperation Framework between our countries is being prepared. There is still tremendous potential for cooperation in areas such as transportation, renewable energy, information technology, and green development. From January to August this year, the total trade volume between China and Greece exceeded 9.6 billion dollars, with Greece remaining China’s 4th largest trading partner among Central and Eastern European countries. In the field of cultural exchanges, we have had some exciting and diverse interactions. The Center of Greek and Chinese Ancient Civilizations was officially established at the University of Athens in February this year, and President Xi Jinping sent a reply letter to five Greek scholars. The 4th Confucius Institute was inaugurated at the University of West Attica, and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Academy of Athens signed a Scientific Cooperation Agreement last week.

 

Standing at a new historical starting point, China is willing to continue to strengthen the alignment of its development strategy with that of Greece, work together for the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, promote the mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries so as to produce more fruitful results, and elevate the China-Greece comprehensive strategic partnership to new heights.

 

Over the past 74 years, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people have successfully opened up a new path – the Chinese path to modernization – transforming the country from a state of poverty to the world’s second-largest economy, and are currently striving towards the second centenary goal of building a modern and powerful socialist country in all respects.

 

Today’s China has become the mainstay of safeguarding world peace and promoting common development. Since the founding of New China, we have never initiated any war nor occupied an inch of other people’s land. President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, providing Chinese solutions for effectively addressing global challenges, leading innovations in global governance, and advancing human civilization.

 

 

Today in Beijing, China released a paper, titled “A Global Community of Shared Future: China’s Proposals and Actions”. The paper said, China’s fine traditional culture epitomizes the essence of the Chinese civilization,which provides inspiring insights to help understand and shape the world, address current challenges, and contains elements of the vision of building a global community of shared future. We also believe that the concept of a global community of shared future crystallizes the shared values of people from different regions, ethnic backgrounds and with different religious beliefs, and it draws on the outstanding achievements of cultural integration between diverse civilizations and embodies the common aspiration of all humanity.

 

Taiwan is an integral part of China. Taiwan’s return to China is an integral part of the post-World War II international order. With the utmost sincerity and by doing its best, China will continue to strive for peaceful reunification. However, some countries under the “anti-war” and “peace” banner encourage the so-called “Taiwanese independence” and condone secessionism. China will never agree to this. This is also the reason why we do not commit to renouncing the use of force.

 

 

K. Fragogiannis: New opportunities for cooperation

 

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of Economic Diplomacy and External Affairs Costas Fragogiannis congratulated China on its national holiday and specifically referred to Sino-Greek relations and the achievements of our mutually beneficial cooperation in recent years.

 

He also noted that the two countries look forward to further strengthening practical cooperation in the future in trade, energy, tourism, agriculture, science, technology and other fields. The Belt and Road Initiative - said Mr. Fragogiannis - which has its roots in the ancient Silk Road, has enriched the overall strategic partnership of our countries, offering new opportunities for the development of bilateral relations.