China's love for Greece opens access to 100 billion euro program

Greece is one of the countries China will include in its 100 billion euro New Silk Road investment program after both countries signed “three-year action plan” for joint projects over the weekend.

The plan signed is simply a statement of intent and does not come with any contracts or specific commitments. However, it concerns investments in transport, energy and telecommunications, “whose successful implementation could bring investments running into billions of euros,” according to Deputy Economy Minister Stergios Pitsiorlas, who signed the action plan on Greece’s behalf.

“There are investment plans on the table concerning the rail network, ports and airports, and stretching to telecom and energy network interconnections and investment in power plants, including those using renewable energy sources,” added Pitsiorlas, the former head of the state privatisation fund (TAIPED).

In his meeting with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a call to Greek and Chinese enterprises to expand cooperation between the two countries in the domains of infrastructure, shipping and telecoms.