China, Greece to deepen ties through Belt and Road Initiative

China and Greece have agreed here to boost cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative.

China-Greece relations have sustained a healthy and stable development since the two countries established diplomatic relations 45 years ago, Chinese official Liu Qibao told Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Thursday.

Liu, head of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said China is willing to work with Greece to further deepen mutual political trust, mutually beneficial cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

China is also ready to make efforts with Greece to implement the Belt and Road Initiative, thus promoting the development of the China-Greece all-round strategic partnership, said Liu.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road and maritime trading routes, bringing mutually beneficial economic outcomes for every nation involved.

During the meeting, Liu introduced the new ideas and new strategies of national governance put forward by the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core.

He said the CPC is willing to deepen communication with Tsipras' Syriza party on ideas of party and state governance in order to lay a solid foundation both politically and socially for the development of the two countries' relations.

Tsipras said both the Greek government and the Syriza party attach great importance to developing relations with China and wish to take the Belt and Road Initiative as an opportunity to further advance bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, culture, science and technology, as well as tourism.

Liu led a Chinese delegation for a visit to Greece from Tuesday to Friday at the invitation of the country's ruling Syriza party.

During the visit, Liu also held talks with Kyriakos Mitsotakis, president of the New Democracy party, and participated in the launching ceremony of the "China-Greece Cultural Exchanges and Cultural Industry Cooperation Year" along with Greek Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis.

At the ceremony, Liu oversaw the signing of two memoranda of understanding on film co-production and translation and the publication of classic and modern Greek and Chinese literary works.

He also attended two exhibitions that opened at the inauguration, one featuring the cultural heritage of Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, and the other showcasing the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics to be held in Beijing and Zhangjiakou. Endi