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 most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

has an embassy in

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

. The Hellenic Republic 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 Kon ...

Hong-Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

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 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 case ...

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 nort ...

. 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 ...

'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 harmoniz ...

, 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 The term One China may refer to one of the following: * The One China principle is the position held by the People's Republic of China (PRC) that there is only one sovereign state under the name China, with the PRC serving as the sole legit ...

, 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, ...

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 transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

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 ge ...

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 People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...

. 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 period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of Afghanistan and the northwestern r ...

Dayuan Dayuan (or Tayuan; ; Middle Chinese ''dâiC-jwɐn'' < LHC: ''dɑh-ʔyɑn'') is the Chinese

(meaning "Great

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 Achaea ...

"), 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 ...

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. 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 India ...

". Strabo writes that Bactrian Greeks "extended their empire even as far as the

Seres Seres are the people of Serica, one of the easternmost countries of Asia known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Seres may also refer to: People * * * Brands and enterprises * See also * Celes (disambiguation) Celes may refer to: * ...

(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 so ...

". 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 imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

. The Sampul tapestry 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." Hydr ...

settlement of Sampul in

Lop County Lop, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency County (, Uyghur: ), also Luopu, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (from Mandarin Chinese), is a county in Hotan Prefecture, in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghu ...

Hotan Prefecture Hotan PrefectureThe official spelling is "Hotan" according to (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is located in the Tarim Basin region of southwestern Xinjiang, China, bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

, has many

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

features. Following the ancient Roman embassies to China recorded in ancient Chinese histories, there appear to have been contacts between the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and several dynasties of China, beginning with the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

(618-907 AD). From Chinese records it is known that

Michael VII Doukas Michael VII Doukas or Ducas ( gr, Μιχαήλ Δούκας), nicknamed Parapinakes ( gr, Παραπινάκης, lit. "minus a quarter", with reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine e ...

(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 the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

(960-1279 AD), centuries before Marco Polo's expedition. Kublai Khan, the Mongol-ruler who founded the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...

(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 The ''History of Yuan'' (''Yuán Shǐ''), also known as the ''Yuanshi'', is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' of China. Commissioned by the court of the Ming dynasty, in accordance to political ...

'' (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 Güyük (also Güyug;; ''c''. March 19, 1206 – April 20, 1248) was the third Khagan-Emperor of the Mongol Empire, the eldest son of Ögedei Khan and a grandson of Genghis Khan. He reigned from 1246 to 1248. Appearance According to Giovann ...

, was well-versed in Western languages and had expertise in the fields of Greek medicine and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

that convinced Kublai Khan to offer him a position as the director of medical and astronomical boards. 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

noble title Traditional rank amongst European royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duk ...

of Prince of Fu lin (

: 拂菻王; ''Fú lǐn wáng''). In his biography within the ''History of Yuan'' his children are mentioned by their

Chinese name Chinese names or Chinese personal names are names used by individuals from Greater China and other parts of the Chinese-speaking world throughout East and Southeast Asia (ESEA). In addition, many names used in Japan, Korea and Vietnam are ofte ...

s, 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 , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

the two countries were enemies and their forces fought each other. The 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 Zhao Ziyang ( zh, 赵紫阳; pronounced , 17 October 1919 – 17 January 2005) was a Chinese politician. He was the third premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 19 ...

(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 Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

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 The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

from issuing statements condemning Chinese aggression in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

and 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 The Bank of China (BOC; ) is a Chinese majority state-owned commercial bank headquartered in Beijing and the fourth largest bank in the world. The Bank of China was founded in 1912 by the Republican government as China's central bank, repl ...

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 Chinese leader, CCP general secretary

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

and he expressed his congratulations on the centenary of the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

. China currently has 67% ownership in the

through

COSCO China Ocean Shipping Company, Limited, formerly China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, commonly known for its abbreviated name COSCO Group, or simply, COSCO, is a former Chinese Government owned shipping and logistics services supplier compan ...

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

, many Greek shipowners greatly helped the Chinese Communist regime of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

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 rate A freight rate (historically and in ship chartering simply freight) is a price at which a certain cargo is delivered from one point to another. The price depends on the form of the cargo, the mode of transport (truck, ship, train, aircraft), the ...

s 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 Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; el, Αριστοτέλης Ωνάσης, Aristotélis Onásis, ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975), was a Greek-Argentinian shipping magnate who amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and wa ...

, who used American-made ships (the

T2 Tanker The T2 tanker, or T2, was a class of oil tanker constructed and produced in large quantities in the United States during World War II. Only the T3 tankers were larger "navy oilers" of the period. Some 533 T2s were built between 1940 and the end of ...

s) of his private fleet (then the largest privately owned fleet in the world) flying the Honduran,

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

nian 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 Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

to China, in ships flying the 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 Basic research, also called pure research or fundamental research, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenomena. In contrast, applied rese ...

, 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 Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

and

Lao Tzu Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state of ...

. 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 Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

and

were unveiled in Athens to mark the beginning of “Greece-China Year of Culture & Tourism”. Additionally, on 29 September 2021, the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports and its Chinese counterpart, the

National Cultural Heritage Administration The National Administration of Cultural Heritage (NCHA; ) is an administrative agency subordinate to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China. It is responsible for the development and management of museums as well a ...

, launched an online exhibition (hosted by the National Archaeological Museum in

and the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in

Xi’an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqin ...

) presenting the Chinese

Terracotta Army The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting the emperor ...

and the Greek

kouros kouros ( grc, κοῦρος, , plural kouroi) is the modern term given to free-standing Ancient Greek sculptures that depict nude male youths. They first appear in the Archaic period in Greece and are prominent in Attica and Boeotia, with a les ...

. The exhibition is the first of its kind in Greece. On 27 October 2021, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held meetings in

with leading Greek officials on Wednesday about deepening the two countries’ economic ties. He specifically met with the Greek Foreign Minister

Nikos Dendias Nikolaos "Nikos" Dendias ( el, Νικόλαος Δένδιας; born 7 October 1959) is a Greek lawyer and politician of the conservative New Democracy party. He is a Member of the Hellenic Parliament for Athens, and was Minister for National ...

and with the

Greek Prime Minister The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Prothypourgós tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece ( el, Πρωθυ� ...

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 Konstantinos G. Simitis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γ. Σημίτης; born 23 June 1936), usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis (Κώστας Σημίτης), is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece a ...

visited China * January 2006, The Prime Minister of Greece

Kostas Karamanlis Konstantinos A. Karamanlis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Αλεξάνδρου Καραμανλής; born 14 September 1956), commonly known as Kostas Karamanlis ( el, Κώστας Καραμανλής, ), is a Greek politician who served as the ...

paid a state visit to China * June 2008, the

President of Greece The president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Próedros tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Rep ...

Karolos Papoulias Karolos Papoulias ( el, Κάρολος Παπούλιας ; 4 June 1929 – 26 December 2021) was a Greek politician who served as the president of Greece from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), he previously ...

paid a five-day state visit to China * November 2008, a three-day visit of President of China and CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao to Greece * June 2010, Chinese Vice-Premier

Zhang Dejiang Zhang Dejiang (; born 4 November 1946) is a Chinese retired politician. He served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress, roughly the equivalent of a speaker of parliament in other countries between ...

four-day trip to Athens * May 2013, Greek prime minister

Antonis Samaras Antonis Samaras ( el, Αντώνης Σαμαράς, ; born 23 May 1951) is a Greek politician who served as 14th Prime Minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015. A member of the New Democracy party, he was its president from 2009 until 2015. 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 China and CCP General Secretary

to Greece * October 2021, a visit of

State Councilor A state councillor () is a high-ranking position within the State Council, the executive organ of the Chinese government (comparable to a cabinet). It ranks immediately below the Vice-Premiers and above the ministers of various departments. ...

and Foreign Minister 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 China Ocean Shipping Company, Limited, formerly China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, commonly known for its abbreviated name COSCO Group, or simply, COSCO, is a former Chinese Government owned shipping and logistics services supplier compan ...

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 Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG) is a Chinese construction and engineering firm that has built important structures in Beijing and infrastructures and buildings overseas through international branches, in particular, an active subsid ...

, real estate company and construction contractor. Helios is developing a hotel and commercial complex for tourism in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...

, Athens' largest port town.

Huawei Technologies Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smar ...

, a Chinese 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

- Μπεάτα Κιτσίκη - ''Γνώρισα τους Κόκκινους Φρουρούς''. Athens, Kedros, 1982. (« I have known the Red Guards ») *

- Μπεάτα Κιτσίκη - ''Αποστολή 1963-1964. Απ'όσα είδαμε στην Κίνα''. Athens, Fexis, 1964. (« 1963-1964. Mission to China ») *

- 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,

Greece 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 ...

China Ancient international relations