Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was given a tour of the Forbidden City in Beijing today.
Mitsotakis is visiting China and will meet with the Chinese leadership. In particular, he will meet with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Chiang and Chairman of the National People's Congress Zhao Leji.
The official visit of the Greek prime minister to the large Asian country had been planned for a long time.
Aside from Beijing, Mitsotakis was also planning to visit Shanghai for the CIIE exhibition (China International Import Expo), where there is a Greek stand in which 20 Greek companies participate.
However, due to the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, the prime minister will return to Athens immediately after the meetings with the Chinese political leadership.
He will be represented at the Shanghai Exhibition by the Minister of Transport, Christos Staikouras and the Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs responsible for Economic Extraversion, Kostas Fragogiannis, who will accompany him.
According to government sources, the visit to Beijing is expected to be an opportunity to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation and issues of regional and international interest, focusing on developments in the Middle East and the latest developments in Ukraine.
It is noted that China is a member of the UN Security Council and can play an important role in regional and international security issues and maintaining international peace and stability.
The same sources report Greece seeks to strengthen bilateral trade relations and increase Greek exports to China, particularly in agricultural and standardised products. There is also scope for further strengthening ties in tourism, as China is a large market.
The visit, they note, takes place after the upgrade of the Greek economy to investment grade by S&P.
At the same time, it is pointed out that recently, two of the largest Chinese rating agencies, Lianhe Credit and Chengxin Rating Group, upgraded the creditworthiness of our country to investment grade.
The Greek prime minister will emphasise to his interlocutors that open communication channels with China and cooperation in dealing with global challenges, such as climate change, are necessary to construct mutually beneficial relations.
Greece maintains good relations with China, while due to cultural ties and geopolitical position, it can act as a bridge between the E.U. and China for a more balanced relationship.
As Kyriakos Mitsotakis mentioned recently, China is a competitor, and this is the position of the European Union in the context of the economic security of the EU.
Addressing global geopolitical challenges, de-risking relations with China and reducing dependence on critical raw materials are promoted. At the same time, the trade deficit of the E.U. against China reached 400 billion euros.
Staikouras meets with the leadership of contractor "Yutong International Holding" in Beijing
Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Staikouras on Thursday met with the management of the company "Yutong International Holding" - specifically with the company's president Wang Wentao and the general manager of the European department of Yuntong, Li Kejie - during his visit to Beijing.
The Chinese Group "Yutong" has been awarded the contract for the supply of the first 250 electric buses for Athens and Thessaloniki. The meeting discussed the prompt execution of the present contract and possible future tenders for non-polluting buses.
There has been no change to the agreed timetables, a ministry announcement said.
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