Du Qiwen, Chinese Ambassador to Athens, praised “the close friendship” between China and Greece and highlighted the commitment of the Chinese government to help Greece out of its debt problem.
Speaking at a conference organised by the Greek association for European studies and the Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence last Friday (20 January), the diplomat highlighted the contribution of China to the eurozone debt crisis while making special reference to the prospects of Greek-Chinese relations.
Du Qiwen said that Beijing has increased its contribution to the IMF and stressed that his country had bought up Greek debt at the request of Athens. “The Chinese Investment Bank established a special fund with initial amount of $5 billion (€3.84 bn) to provide financial services to the Greek shipping industry, among others,” he said.
Particular reference was made to the Greek-Chinese cooperation in tourism with Air China, the airline, set to reopen direct flights to Athens.
The diplomat also emphasized his country’s commitment to double the bilateral Greek-Chinese trade at $8 billion (€6.15 bn) within 5 years from 2011. He noted that the “first 10 months of 2011, Greek exports to China grew 83.5%”.
Finally, the diplomat said there was a sense that “whatever China buys, its price rises while everything that sells its price falls”. In the case of Greek wine, oil and marble, this rule should also apply, because China wants Greek farmers and producers to have more economic benefits, he concluded.
(source:EurActiv.com)
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
