The will to further deepen the maritime cooperation between Greece and China was expressed by the Chinese ambassador to our country, Xiao Juncheng, on the occasion of the 9th “Our Ocean Conference” which will take place next week in Athens. As the Chinese ambassador made clear, maritime cooperation is an important link for strengthening China-Greece relations.
He was also quick to point out that both China and Greece are signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and have been elected several times as category A members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
He noted that China is committed to safeguarding maritime peace, firmly maintaining the maritime order based on international law, and fully participating in the formulation and implementation of maritime rules within the framework of the United Nations. He also pointed out that China was one of the first to sign and ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and that as a party to the Convention, China attaches great importance to the Convention and implements it, as stated in a related update the Chinese embassy.
Speaking regarding bilateral relations, he expressed his firm belief that China and Greece can further deepen bilateral cooperation with the ocean bond. In this context, he stated that China is willing to strengthen strategic alignment with Greece, focusing on the development of maritime economy, enhancing the level of maritime technological innovation, improving global maritime governance and protecting the marine ecological environment. He also noted that China is willing to strengthen discussions with Greece regarding cooperation in the field of marine technology and green shipping.
He also pointed out that Greece is a leading shipping country in the world and China an important shipbuilding and importing and exporting country of cargo. In this light, he emphasized the possibilities of cooperation between China and Greece in shipping and green shipbuilding.
“Exchanges and cooperation in the maritime sector between China and Greece are deepening,” he pointed out, referring to the purchase of ships from Greek shipowners and, at the same time, to the transport by the Greek fleet “over half of the energy and oil imported by China.” In addition, he pointed out that more than 80 Chinese shipping companies have registered to take part in this year’s leading international exhibition “Posidonia”.
The Chinese ambassador made special reference to the importance of the port of Piraeus as a regional logistics hub, but also to COSCO’s investment. In fact, he singled out the investment in the port of Piraeus as the high point of the bilateral maritime cooperation, underlining that it is a successful example of mutual complementarity, strong cooperation and mutual benefit, with the achievements of this cooperation increasingly benefiting the citizens of both countries.
He noted that Piraeus has emerged as a leading container port in the Mediterranean, the third largest cruise port in Europe and the largest ferry port in Europe.
At the same time, he noted that “COSCO paid a total of more than one billion euros to the Greek government for concession fees and taxes, increased the dividends of listed companies by 12 times, directly created 4,300 jobs in Greece, indirectly 12,000 and strengthened the Greek GDP by 1.56%”. He also emphasized that with joint efforts, the PPA significantly strengthened the role of Greece as a gateway that connects land and sea and communicates between Europe and Asia.
He then referred to the Eastern Mediterranean, stressing that China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is committed to maintaining peace and hopes that Greece and Turkey can resolve their differences through dialogue and negotiations. “China welcomes the recent improvements in bilateral relations between Greece and Turkey through dialogue and has always supported this,” he added.
Finally, he underlined the importance of holding the 9th international conference “Our Ocean” in Greece, from April 16 to 17. It is a great event for global maritime affairs to share knowledge and cooperate with each other. Our Ocean 2024 will focus on issues such as the green transformation of the oceans, ecological environment and sustainable development.
The Chinese government highly values Greece as the host country of this conference and will send a delegation to participate led by Sun Shuxian, vice minister of natural resources and director of the State Oceanic Administration.” He also announced that during the conference, China will hold a side event to promote blue partnerships and take action for a healthy ocean.
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