Paths open in China
As Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis returned from China yesterday, government sources indicated that his trip to the world’s most populated nation was a success, resulting in new business channels opening up in the fields of shipping and tourism. Karamanlis, accompanied by Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis, looked determined to close some deals on his three-day trip to Beijing and Shanghai and has achieved this, according to government sources. Apart from agreeing to export some 60,000 tons of fertilizer to China, the Chinese have agreed to use Greek ports as a hub for ships transporting their products into Europe. As of April, 11 freight vessels from China will be stopping over and unloading their goods in Piraeus on a monthly basis, while sources said that Karamanlis also pushed for Thessaloniki and Crete to be included in their transportation plans. The local tourism industry is also keen to draw more of the 22 million Chinese tourists that visit the European Union every year – a development that might be achieved with more direct flights between Athens and Beijing. Diplomatic sources highlighted that the trip also had political weight, as Karamanlis met with Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao, in addition to other senior political leaders. On the sidelines of a Greek-Chinese business conference held on Saturday, Molyviatis told journalists that it is unusual for the leader of any country to meet with so many state officials so high up in the Chinese political hierarchy. Beijing is eager to develop friendly ties with Greece because it is a member of the European Union. But Greece’s leading shipping industry also acts as a draw card. Greek shipping businesses have ordered about 100 vessels from Chinese shipyards, translating into the spending of some 4 billion dollars’ (3.3 billion euros’) worth on ships that are to be handed over in the next three years. Greek investments in China have doubled recently but still remain at low levels. In 2005, Greek companies invested 140 million euros versus 72 million euros the previous year.
