INTERVIEW
BY THE PRIME MINISTER
OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC
MR KOSTAS KARAMANLIS
TO MS LIANG YEQIAN
FOR XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
Mr. Prime Minister visited China in 2006 and agreed with Chinese leaders to establish All-Round Strategic Partnership between the two countries. What’s Mr. Prime Minister’s opinion or comments on current Greek-Chinese relationship and his expectation on bilateral relationship?
Firstly, I would like to extent warmest congratulate on the success of the Beijing Olympic Games. The Chinese people should feel proud of this achievement. “One World One Dream” fully reflects the essence and the universal values of the Olympic spirit.
Strengthening ties with China is a major priority of the foreign policy of my government. In the past four years we have made impressive progress, in all fields. Bilateral trade flows have increased. New investments are yielding tangible results with Cosco having won a concession to run Piers 2 and 3 at the Piraeus Port Container Terminal for 35 years. Tourism is on the rise, a direct air-link between Athens and Beijing has been established. We have an excellent cooperation in the shipping sector with a large portion of Chinese cargo transported by Greek ships.
The relationship between Greece and China is one of strong cooperation on international issues. We are strengthening and deepening our bilateral political dialogue and implementing political consultations at all levels.
We have a firm position in favor of the one-China principle and consider that China can play a positive role on issues of Greek national interest. A great contribution to the development of our ties has been the frequent exchange of visits, at all levels, culminating in the forthcoming visit, of President Hu to Greece.
The wide scope of our relations reflects our friendship, our strong strategic partnership and our shared vision to further develop them to the benefit of both our countries. We share common interests and common goals and I can assure you of my personal commitment and involvement to continue working closely together, in strengthening this strategic partnership.
To further strengthen Sino-Greek relationship, what kind of suggestions Mr. Prime Minister’s may give? In particular on how to further explore Sino-Greek all-around partnership?
The official visit of President Hu to Greece is an important milestone which further enhances our relations. With President Hu we will have the opportunity to take stock of progress made and to examine the impetus that can we both give for further progress.
While some see China’s economic development as a threat, I firmly believe that China’s growth is an opportunity for Greek companies, for our producers, exporters and investors. On areas of specific interest to us, I should mention our exports of olive oil and canned fruit in particular.
In cooperation with the Chinese government and Chinese business we must both adopt measures necessary to promote our bilateral trade. Our aim is to make Greece the prime location in our region for inward Chinese investment. The agreements that will be signed during the visit of President Hu are a step in this direction and further advance our partnership.
Greece and China have much to offer to each other. I am looking forward to a successful and productive visit of President Hu to Greece.
As an important EU member, what kind of suggestions may Greece give on promoting EU-China relationship and developing Balkan countries’ relationship with China ?
China is a strategic partner for the European Union, as a result of the spectacular progress achieved in our relations. Trade has multiplied over the years and the political dialogue now covers a wide range of issues. The EU is China’s second largest trade partner, with China being the EU’s largest partner.
Sustainable development, as well as the new architecture of the 21st century, are considered two main priority areas for cooperation between China and the European Union. The EU is open to deeper cooperation with China, in order to achieve environmentally sustainable growth. Close cooperation is essential for the reform of the United Nations, global security and non proliferation of WMD’s.
China plays an ever growing role in world economic affairs. In the current economic downturn China’s role is crucial. More than ever the world is looking to China to be a contributor to global economic growth.
There is no major conflict of interest between China and the EU. With this in mind, I am very optimistic about the future of relations between the EU and China and I strongly support the conclusion of a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. A new agreement will consolidate what has been already achieved and commit to further developing and enhancing EU-China relations.
As to the current serious global financial crisis, how does Mr. Prime Minister think it can be resolved? What kind of role China should play in this process?
The financial crisis that began in the United States and spread throughout the world is unprecedented in the post-war era. The European Union has taken initiatives to confront the crisis on both a European and international level; initiatives aimed at restoring confidence in the financial system and gradually normalizing its functioning. There needs to be agreement on an international level with regard to reforms to the system so that we won’t see the same problems cropping up again in the future. The basic principles of the new system must be better supervision of the market and greater transparency in the operation of financial institutions. At the same time, we need international coordination of macroeconomic policies in order to deal with the repercussions of the financial crisis as there has been a major slowdown in the global economy and many countries are facing recession. Under no circumstances should we strengthen protectionism. Conversely, we have to impart new momentum to the process of liberalizing global trade. China is participating in the G-20 discussing how to confront the crisis and has an important role to play in reaching the solutions, which are being explored within the framework of international coordination.
Whether Mr. Prime Minister could give some suggestions on how to strengthen bilateral economic relationship?
Greek-Chinese economic relations have made impressive progress in recent years thanks to activities on the political level on both sides. The volume of trade increased at a rapid pace, enterprises from both countries moved ahead with mutual investments and a significant portion of China’s foreign trade is transported by Greek-owned vessels. An important milestone in bilateral cooperation was reached with the presence of Cosco in Greece, following the company’s winning bid in the tender competition for the concession to run the Piraeus Port container terminal. Despite this improvement in bilateral relations there is certainly room for significant further improvement in the form of new direct investments from both countries and of joint ventures. Within such a framework, we have also suggested the establishment of a “Greek House” in Beijing, in the form of a permanent exhibition of Greek consumer goods and services, by entrepreneurs interested in entering the Chinese market.