China, Greece to seek enhanced cooperation under B&R Initiative

Staff members examine a China-Europe container train at Suzhou West Railway Station in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, June 8, 2016. (Xinhua/Sun Can)

China and Greece will deepen cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative to inject fresh impetus to their comprehensive strategic partnership, foreign ministers of the two countries said in Athens on April 23.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias held talks with his visiting Chinese counterpart Wang Yi here on Sunday.

During the talks, Wang described Greece as one of the most reliable partners of China in the European Union (EU), and said the continued exchanges between the top leaders of the two countries have injected fresh impetus to the bilateral ties.

Citing the Piraeus port project, the Chinese foreign minister said the success of the project not only added new impetus to Greece's economic recovery, but also became a good example for bilateral cooperation of mutual benefits.

Talking about the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation scheduled for mid-May in Beijing, Wang said China welcomed the presence of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and expected Greece to contribute to the initiative.

He said China is willing to boost political mutual trust, explore potential of pragmatic cooperation, expand trade and deepen people-to-people exchange, together with Greece.

He also noted the first Ministerial Conference of the Ancient Civilizations Forum, which will open here on Monday, saying China is willing to boost communications and dialogues between different civilizations.

The forum is a Greek initiative with China as co-organizer and will be attended by 10 countries that represent major ancient civilizations: Greece, China, Bolivia, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Mexico and Peru.

On his part, Kotzias said Greece responded positively to the Belt and Road Initiative, and Greece wants to discuss with China the pragmatic cooperation in fields like economy, tourism, culture, renewable energy and shipbuilding.

He said Greece will enhance communications and collaboration with China in multilateral and regional issues, and will continue the mutual support on major issues concerning each other's core interests.

The two sides also exchange the views on issues of common concern, including China-Europe relations and the Syrian issue.