| China-Greece Bilateral Relations |
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| Thursday,March 22,2007 Posted: 18:52 BJT(52 GMT) moa |
China-Greece Bilateral Relations
As the origins of Oriental and Western civilizations, China and Greece have both made great contributions to the human history. The two peoples hold warm and friendly feelings toward each other. Since the forging of diplomatic ties 34 years ago, the two countries have built up sound relations on the basis of equality, mutual respect and benefit. We have conducted fruitful exchanges and cooperation in a wide range of areas. We enjoy mutual understand and support on issues of each other’s concern. We share similar stands on major international issues and coordinate well in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations with a view to maintain world peace and stability.
During the visit of Prime Minister Karamanlis to China in January 2006, Greece and China signed a Joint Declaration establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our two countries. It is the reflection of the fruitful bilateral cooperation in various fields over many years, a big step forward in the development of our bilateral relations. China is willing to join hands with Greece to boost mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, and to push our relations to a new high level.
To enrich the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Greece, an important aspect is to strengthen the bilateral economic and trade cooperation. Our bilateral economic and trade cooperation has been expanding very fast in the past few years and there is huge potential for future development. Sino-Greek trade volume has risen from US$500 million in 2000 to US$2.02 billion in 2005. There has also been an impressive boom of mutually beneficial cooperation in the service sector. Greek ships transported half of the US$1.4 trillion worth of China’s import and export goods in 2005. Last year, we imported 130 million tons of crude oil, 65% of which was carried by Greek tankers. The project contracts signed between the two countries have amounted to 290 million dollars.
In line with the enthusiasm and momentum of our bilateral economic and trade cooperation, 3 proposals:
Firstly, deepening the cooperation in traditional areas such as shipping and shipbuilding. China and Greece have laid a sound foundation for their cooperation in such traditional areas as shipping and ship-building, which complement one another. Greece was a globally important shipping hub with the largest merchant fleet, while China was the third largest country of trade in the world and the third largest ship-building nation with abundant human resources. The two sides should carry out strategic cooperation in the fields of shipping, ship-building, harbor construction, and develop a long-term and stable partnership for mutual benefit and win-win results. China welcomes Greek enterprises with substantial strength to invest in China's ship-building and vessel reparation projects, and to support capable Chinese enterprises to make investment in Greek harbor and port construction.
Secondly, expanding the cooperation to new areas such as tourism. Greece had rich experiences in the development of tourism, which is its traditional industry, while China is the world's largest source of tourists and the biggest potential tourism market. We also welcome our Greek friends to visit China. The two countries are mutually complementary in developing tourism. This month, Tourism Minister Mme. Petralia will visit China and sign an agreement of cooperation on tourism with her Chinese counterpart. I believe the concerned departments and enterprises on both sides will grasp the opportunities and seek more cooperative ways in this field.
Thirdly, letting enterprises be important players in the economic and trade cooperation. The two countries are complementary in terms of industrial structure. However, huge potentials were yet to be tapped. I call for a fully active relationship between the two countries' enterprises in bilateral trade cooperation. Enterprises were the mainstay of both market activities and bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The two countries should take strengthening enterprises' cooperation as a priority in deepening Sino-Greek trade cooperation and encourage competitive and capable enterprises to make investment and economic technological cooperation of all kinds. The governments of China and Greece will make concerted efforts to continue to push for better facilitation of bilateral trade and investment, and create more favorable conditions and encourage further backing for mutually beneficial cooperation between the enterprises of the two countries.
Other important bilateral cooperation in such fields as culture, education and Olympic Games for better cultivation of mutual understanding and friendship. Here are some highlights of our cooperation:
Firstly, the Chinese Government has decided to dedicate the year before the Beijing Olympic Games as the “Cultural Year of Greece”(from September 2007 to June 2008). Chinese artists are bringing to Greece the best of Chinese culture such as Peking Opera, martial arts, calligraphy, photography, painting, music and dance. etc.
Secondly, in April 2006, Education Minister Mme. Giannakou, visited China and signed an agreement of cooperation on education with her Chinese counterpart, including enhancing language teaching and exchanges between universities. Actually, the first Chinese language proficiency test center has been established here in the Greek-China Friendship Association. While back in China, two prestigious universities, Beijing University and Shanghai Foreign Languages University have already started Greek cultural study and language courses. Recently, Beijing Foreign Studies University and Communication University of China have also expressed their interest in opening Greek language courses.
Thirdly, hosting the first two Olympic Games of the 21st century successively have brought our two countries ever closer to each other. Following the visit of our Vice Primier Mme. Chen Zhili to Greece in May last year, a Sino-Greek Joint Committee on Olympic Cooperation has been established to guide and coordinate the all-around cooperation. The Olympic Flame will be passed to Beijing in two years time and we are looking forward to it.
In the history of human development, the oriental civilization represented by ancient China and the western civilization represented by Ancient Greece interacted with each other and glorified each other. Today, the two countries are working together for their greater prosperity and a better world. Mutual interest and mutual benefit has ushered in a golden period of cooperation, have generated more opportunities for China and Greece, and have fully prove that different cultures surely can coexist and cooperate peacefully and fruitfully, thus contributing to a harmonious world. I firmly believe that in today's world with peace and development as the main theme, so long as we increase mutual understanding, work hard together and explore aggressively the potential, the Greek people and the Chinese people will benefit from our ever closer bilateral ties. And I am confident that China-Greece relations will surely score greater achievements. |
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