People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...

has an embassy in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

. The

Hellenic Republic Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

has an embassy in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and three general consulates in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...

, Hong-Kong and since 2005 in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. The

Port of Piraeus The Port of Piraeus ( el, Λιμάνι του Πειραιά) is the chief sea port of Athens, Greece, located on the Saronic Gulf on the western coasts of the Aegean Sea, the largest port in Greece and one of the largest in Europe. The Chinese ...

(under Chinese management since 2009 and majority Chinese ownership since 2016) is important from a geostrategic view for China, as it helps China's transactions with the whole of Europe. Thousands of Chinese people are living in Greece in the Overseas Chinese context and approximately 1000 Greek citizens are living in China. Modern diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1972. Today, Greece and China enjoy a very good relationship based on a solid foundation, which continues to be growing steadily. In the early years of the Cold War, Greece, like most other Western European countries, recognized the Chinese Nationalist Government of

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

as being the legitimate governing authority of China, despite Chiang only controlling a

rump state A rump state is the remnant of a once much larger state, left with a reduced territory in the wake of secession, annexation, occupation, decolonization, or a successful coup d'état or revolution on part of its former territory. In the last cas ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

. In June 1972, in the aftermath of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

's visit to

and the People's Republic of China's admission to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

, Greece switched recognition to the People's Republic, cutting off relations with Taiwan.D. Chourchoulis, Greece and the People's Republic of China in the Cold War, 1972 – 1989
in ''Europe and China in the Cold War: Exchanges Beyond the Bloc Logic and the Sino-Soviet Split'', Brill, 2019, Edited by Janick Marina Schaufelbuehl, Marco Wyss and Valeria Zanier Today, Taiwan maintains a "Taipei Representative Office in Athens", which is active in organizing various events and making statements to the Greek media; however, Greece strictly adheres to a One China policy, and Taiwanese officials in Athens do not enjoy diplomatic or consular status. The key period in the strengthening of bilateral relations came in the 1980s, when Greek Prime Minister

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou ( el, Ανδρέας Γεωργίου Παπανδρέου, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics, known for founding the political party PASOK, wh ...

sought allies beyond Europe and the US in his policy of confronting

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

over the

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

and Aegean disputes, and in this context courted China under

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...

. Greek shipowners also played an important role, by ordering many of their ships to be built in Chinese shipyards beginning in the 1980s, instead of British, German and Japanese shipyards (as had been the case since the late 19th century).

Country comparison

History of bilateral relations

Ancient

Ancient Chinese people had contact with the

Indo-Greeks The Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known historically as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya), was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of Afghanistan and the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent ( ...

Dayuan Dayuan (or Tayuan; ; Middle Chinese ''dâiC-jwɐn'' <

LHC

: ''dɑh-ʔyɑn'') is the Chinese

Ionians The Ionians (; el, Ἴωνες, ''Íōnes'', singular , ''Íōn'') were one of the four major tribes that the Greeks considered themselves to be divided into during the ancient period; the other three being the Dorians, Aeolians, and Achae ...

"), was described in the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...

historical works of ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

'' and the ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. ...

''. It is mentioned in the accounts of the famous Chinese

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

Zhang Qian Zhang Qian (; died c. 114) was a Chinese official and diplomat who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the late 2nd century BC during the Han dynasty. He was one of the first official diplomats to bring back valuable inf ...

in 130 BCE and the numerous embassies that followed him into Central Asia. The country of Dayuan is generally accepted as relating to the

Ferghana Valley The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...

, and its Greek city

Alexandria Eschate Alexandria Eschate ( grc-x-attic, Ἀλεξάνδρεια Ἐσχάτη, grc-x-doric, Αλεχάνδρεια Ἐσχάτα, Alexandria Eschata, "Furthest Alexandria") was a city founded by Alexander the Great, at the south-western end of the ...

. These Chinese accounts describe the Dayuan as urbanized dwellers with

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

features, living in walled cities and having "customs identical to those of the

Greco-Bactrians The Bactrian Kingdom, known to historians as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom or simply Greco-Bactria, was a Hellenistic-era Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world in Central Asia and the Indi ...

". Strabo writes that Bactrian Greeks "extended their empire even as far as the Seres (Chinese) and the

Phryni The Phryni ( grc, Φρύνοι) were an ancient people of eastern Central Asia, probably located in the eastern part of the Tarim Basin, in an area connected to that of the Seres and the Tocharians. They are mentioned several times in Classical s ...

". The

War of the Heavenly Horses The War of the Heavenly Horses () or the Han–Dayuan War () was a military conflict fought in 104 BC and 102 BC between the Chinese Han dynasty and the Saka-ruled (Scythian) Greco-Bactrian kingdom known to the Chinese as Dayuan, in the Fergha ...

(104–101 BC) was a war between Dayuan and the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

. The

Sampul tapestry The Sampul tapestry is an ancient woolen wall-hanging found at the Tarim Basin settlement of Sampul in Lop County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, China, close to ancient city of Khotan. The object has many Hellenistic period features, including ...

found at the

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hyd ...

settlement of Sampul in Lop County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, has many Hellenistic features. Following the Sino-Roman relations, ancient Roman embassies to China recorded in Twenty-four Histories, ancient Chinese histories, there appear to have been contacts between the Byzantine Empire and several Chinese dynasties, dynasties of China, beginning with the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). From Chinese records it is known that Michael VII Doukas (Mie li yi ling kai sa 滅力伊靈改撒) of ''Fu lin'' (拂菻; i.e. Byzantium) dispatched a diplomatic mission to China that eventually arrived in 1081, during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song, Emperor Shenzong of the Song dynasty (960-1279 AD), centuries before Marco Polo's expedition. Kublai Khan, the Mongol Empire, Mongol-ruler who founded the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368 AD) of China not only maintained correspondence with the Byzantine Greeks but hosted some of them at his court in Khanbaliq (modern

). The ''History of Yuan'' (chapter 134) records that a certain Ai-sie (transliteration of either Joshua or Joseph) from the country of Fu lin (i.e. the Byzantine Empire), initially in the service of Güyük Khan, was well-versed in Western languages and had expertise in the fields of Byzantine medicine, Greek medicine and Byzantine astronomy, astronomy that convinced Kublai Khan to offer him a position as the director of medical and astronomical boards.Emil Bretschneider, Bretschneider, E. (2000), ''Medieval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources: Fragments Towards the Knowledge of the Geography and History of Central and Western Asia from the 13th to the 17th Century, Vol. 1'', Abingdon: Routledge, reprint of 1888 edition, p. 144. Kublai Khan eventually honored Ai-sie with the Chinese nobility, noble title of Prince of Fu lin (Chinese language, Chinese: 拂菻王; ''Fú lǐn wáng''). In his biography within the ''History of Yuan'' his children are mentioned by their Chinese names, which bear similarities to the Christian names Elias (''Ye-li-ah''), Luke (''Lu-ko''), and Antony (''An-tun''), with a daughter named ''A-na-si-sz''. Τhe Sino-Hellenic contacts since Hellenistic times has recently been reinforced by the interdisciplinary study of prestige gold provided which a new interpretive framework for understanding trans-cultural contact between Han China and the Hellenistic world. The contextual analysis of the gold artefacts with foreign features presented in the current paper shows that the quest for exotica along with the desire for “heavenly horses” among the ruling elites acted as the driving force that led to an unprecedented extent of imperial expansion of the Han court in Central Asia, as well as the establishment of a vast trading network during the first century BCE. Today these ancient relations are unfolded and strengthened with the Sino-Hellenic Academic Project.

Modern

Korean War

During the Korean War the two countries were enemies and their forces fought each other. The Greek Expeditionary Force (Korea), Greek Expeditionary Force was part of the UN forces.

Andreas Papandreou and Deng Xiaoping

, who came to power in 1981, aggressively courted China as part of his policy of finding allies beyond Greece's traditional partners in Western Europe and the US to confront

over the

and Aegean disputes. His April 1986 visit to

, followed by the visit to

of Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang (the first such visit by a Chinese head of government), were important milestones in developing bilateral relations. Although Papandreou was able to earn diplomatic support from Chinese paramount leader

on some of his initiatives, the more long-lasting impact of this visit was felt in the economic and commercial fields, especially in shipping industry, shipping.

European Union era

China and Greece raised their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership in 2006. In 2014, 78 Chinese citizens were among those evacuated from Libya by the Greek navy frigate Salamis. China thanked Greece for its help. In 2017, Greece, under Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, prevented the European Union from issuing statements condemning Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and Human rights in China, its human rights record, moves widely attributed as a response to Chinese investment in the

. On the 12th of April, 2019, Greece officially joined China's 'Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries', becoming the 17th European Nation to join the initiative, making it 17+1. This move has further developed relations between China and Greece. The hope is for an Athens-Budapest rail line, going through Belgrade and Skopje. In 2019, the Bank of China opened its first branch in Greece. On the 8th of July 2021, the Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed Greece's appreciation of China's firm stance regarding a settlement of the Cyprus dispute. On the 17th of July 2021, Mitsotakis had a phone conversation with Paramount leader, Chinese leader, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping and he expressed his congratulations on the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party. China currently has 67% ownership in the

through COSCO.

The role of Greek shipowners

Although China and Greece were enemies in the early years of the Cold War, with their militaries directly confronting each other in the Korean War, many Greek shipowners greatly helped the Chinese Communist regime of Mao Zedong during these same years by breaking the trade embargo imposed on China by most Western countries (Greece among them) and secretly carrying cargoes to Chinese ports. During the Korean War, freight rates rocketed as demand for supplies reached enormous heights. Greek shipowners made their tonnage available to Mao's government, in a win-win situation, as Mao successfully broke the embargo and secured vital supplies while the shipowners enjoyed excellent profits.Thomas W. Lippman, Crude Oil, Crude Money: Aristotle Onassis, Saudi Arabia, and the CIA, p.p. 52-54, The most prominent example was that of Aristotle Onassis, who used American-made ships (the T2 Tankers) of his private fleet (then the largest privately owned fleet in the world) flying the Honduras, Honduran, Panamanian and Liberian flags to transport cargoes to Chinese ports. In a similar operation coordinated with the Chinese Communist intelligence services, Onassis used his tankers to transport petroleum to China, in ships flying the Saudi Arabia, Saudi flag.

Cultural connections

The cultural relationship between China and Greece is based on the mutual respect that both countries are ancient civilizations. The cultural cooperation between the two countries is also based on cultural cooperation agreements and cultural exchange plans. In 1978, China and Greece signed the “China-Greece Cultural Exchange and Cooperation Agreement”, followed by the “China-Greece Science and Technology Exchange and Cooperation Agreement” in 1979, and the “China-Greece Tourism Cooperation Agreement” in 1988. Since China and Greece have signed an agreement on scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation in 1979, they both have successively convened 10 scientific and technological cooperation mixed committees. The cooperation projects involved agriculture, energy, geosciences, oceanography, biology, medicine. In the fields of sociology, materials science and basic research, some cooperative projects have achieved research results and economic and social benefits. The two countries also have exchanges in protection of cultural relics, museum construction, and press groups. In 2005, the "Memorandum of Understanding on China-Greece Education Cooperation" was signed. In 2012, on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and Greece many commemoratory events were planned in both countries, such as a joint philatelic publication, circulated by the Greek and Chinese postal services. A variety of events were also organized including a Greek cinema week and an exhibition on the lives and works of Socrates and Laozi, Lao Tzu. On 7 July 2021, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed for the "Greece-China Year of Culture & Tourism" to begin in September 2021 and extend to 2022 since it's a good opportunity to further strengthen relations and increase tourist flows between the two countries. On 17 September 2021, statues of Confucius and Socrates were unveiled in Athens to mark the beginning of “Greece-China Year of Culture & Tourism”. Additionally, on 29 September 2021, the Ministry of Culture and Sports (Greece), Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports and its Chinese counterpart, the National Cultural Heritage Administration, launched an online exhibition (hosted by the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, National Archaeological Museum in

and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, Xi’an) presenting the Chinese Terracotta Army and the Greek kouros. The exhibition is the first of its kind in Greece. On 27 October 2021, the Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (politician), Wang Yi held meetings in

with leading Greek officials on Wednesday about deepening the two countries’ economic ties. He specifically met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Greece), Greek Foreign MinisterNikos Dendias and with the Prime Minister of Greece, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Wang, in his visit to Athens, noted that: "China and Greece are not only partners that benefit each other for win-win outcomes but also in particular, friends that share the same aspirations. China-Greece cooperation has been always in the front rank of China-Europe relations, setting an example for exchanges between and mutual learning from countries of different cultural backgrounds and social systems."

Bilateral visits

* June 2002 Prime Minister of Greece Costas Simitis visited China * January 2006, The Prime Minister of Greece Kostas Karamanlis paid a state visit to China * June 2008, the President of Greece Karolos Papoulias paid a five-day state visit to China * November 2008, a three-day visit of President of the People's Republic of China, President of China and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao to Greece * June 2010, Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang four-day trip to Athens * May 2013, Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras five-day trip to China * November 2019, Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis three-day trip to China * November 2019, a three-day state visit of President of the People's Republic of China, President of China and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping to Greece * October 2021, a visit of State councillor of China, State Councilor and Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi (politician), Wang Yi to Greece

Bilateral treaties

*China-Greece Cultural Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (1978) *China-Greece Science and Technology Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (1979) *China-Greece Tourism Cooperation Agreement (1988) *Agreement on cooperation between police forces (Beijing, February 15, 1995). *Cooperation Agreement on combating terrorism and drugs (Beijing, February 15, 1995). *Maritime agreement (October 16, 1995). *Memorandum of cooperation on management of marine resources and mutual scientific and technical cooperation (Athens, October 16, 1995). *Protocol on scientific and technological cooperation (Beijing, November 14, 1995). *Programme of cultural exchanges for the period 1999 2002 (Beijing, September 9, 1999). Extended for a further three years in March 2003. *Protocol on consultations between the foreign ministries of Greece and China (Beijing, February 29, 2000). *Protocol of the 8th session of the joint committee on scientific and technological cooperation (Beijing, October 16, 2000). * Agreement on the Cooperation of Forestry between the State Forestry Administration of the PRC and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Hellenic Republic (2002). *Memorandum of Understanding on China-Greece Education Cooperation (2005)

Investment

In October 2009 Cosco leased for 30 years part of the

, the cargo level two years later was three times higher than before. In 2010 a $123 million contract between Helios Plaza and BCEGI, a subsidiary of Beijing Construction Engineering Group, real estate company and construction contractor. Helios is developing a hotel and commercial complex for tourism in Piraeus, Athens' largest port town. Huawei Technologies, a Chinese Telecommunication, telecom invested with Hellenic Telecommunications Organization. In March 2015 Deputy Greek Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias paid an official visit to China on 25 March 2015. Within this context, Minister Kotzias met with the Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, Wang Yi.

References

Citations

Sources

* Beata Kitsikis - Μπεάτα Κιτσίκη - ''Γνώρισα τους Κόκκινους Φρουρούς''. Athens, Kedros, 1982. (« I have known the Red Guards ») * Beata Kitsikis - Μπεάτα Κιτσίκη - ''Αποστολή 1963-1964. Απ'όσα είδαμε στην Κίνα''. Athens, Fexis, 1964. (« 1963-1964. Mission to China ») * Beata Kitsikis - Μπεάτα Κιτσίκη - ''Ματιές στην Κίνα''. Athens, P. Bolaris Press, 1957. (« China Glimpses ») * Dimitri Kitsikis- Δημήτρης Κιτσίκης - ''Συγκριτική Ιστορία Ελλάδος-Κίνας. Από την αρχαιότητα μέχρι σήμερα''. Athens, Herodotos, 2007. ("A Comparative History of Greece and China. From Antiquity to the Present Day")

External links

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the relation with Greece Chinese embassy in Athens Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the relation with China Greek embassy in Beijing Greek general consulate in Hong-Kong
{{DEFAULTSORT:China-Greece relations China–Greece relations, Bilateral relations of China, Greece Bilateral relations of Greece, China Ancient international relations

Country comparison

History of bilateral relations

Ancient

Modern

Korean War

Andreas Papandreou and Deng Xiaoping

European Union era

The role of Greek shipowners

Cultural connections

Bilateral visits

Bilateral treaties

Investment

See also

References

Citations

Sources

External links