Editor's note:
China and Greece share a solid foundation of political trust and enjoy robust trade and economic cooperation. This partnership holds substantial potential within the context of the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism and China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which marks its10th anniversary this year. Piraeus Port's transformation led by China COSCO Shipping has been nothing short of extraordinary. In a recent exclusive interview, the Chinese Ambassador to Greece Xiao Junzheng (Xiao) told the Global Times reporter (GT) Yin Yeping how bilateral relations can further deepen and flourish in the coming years.

GT: This year marks the beginning of the second decade of cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC). In this context, how could China, Greece, and CEE countries engage in deeper and broader cooperation?

Xiao: Since the initiation of the cooperation mechanism between China and the CEEC, a comprehensive cooperation framework covering more than 20 areas has been established. Many cooperation projects have yielded fruitful results, with bilateral trade doubling over the past decade, and Chinese investment in CEEC increasing sixfold. The China-CEEC cooperation mechanism has become an important platform for the continuous deepening of friendly relations and the ongoing expansion of cooperation between China and the region.
This year marks the beginning of the second decade of cooperation between China and the CEEC. In China's journey toward modernization, Greece can become a significant partner. Likewise, in Greece's efforts to enhance its national competitiveness, China could be a crucial partner, providing assistance and support.
China and Greece enjoy a high level of political mutual trust, a strong foundation for cooperation, and significant potential for the future within the framework of the China-CEEC mechanism. In the future, cooperation can focus on the following aspects:
Firstly, promote mutually beneficial and practical cooperation. The Greek government has prioritized digital transformation and the development of a green economy. Both China and Greece can further align their growth strategies, while expand cooperation in green economy, digital economy, technology innovation, and the service industry.
Secondly, enhance connectivity. China COSCO Shipping's investment project at Piraeus Port and the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line originating from Piraeus Port have evolved into crucial links between land and sea, effectively connecting Europe and Asia.
In the future, China and Greece can strengthen their commitment to the comprehensive development plan for Piraeus Port, enhance cooperation in trade, make new contributions to stability of the China-Europe industrial and supply chains, promoting economic integration in the Balkans, and advancing the EU integration.
Thirdly, accelerate cultural and tourism cooperation. China supports Greece in hosting the 6th China-CEEC High-level Conference on Tourism Cooperation. China is willing to work with Greece to do a good job in cooperation regarding China-Greece Year of Culture and Tourism, continue to implement the Joint Action Program 2022-2024, build tourism brands, and initiate a broader spectrum of diverse cultural and tourism cooperation.

GT: How do you view the significance of Chinese companies' achievements in Piraeus Port for promoting economic recovery of Greece and the development of China's international maritime industry? What insights can the success in Piraeus offer for future cooperation?

Xiao: Since China COSCO Shipping Group took over the operations of Piraeus Port, they have managed it actively and prudently, making efforts to expand its market presence. This century-old port has experienced a remarkable revival and achieved significant growth, propelling the rapid advancement of local logistics and industrial chains.
Currently, the Piraeus subsidiary of COSCO Shipping has invested over 1 billion euros in port construction. The Piraeus Port has seen a significant rise in container throughput ranking, climbing from 93rd place in 2010 to 29th place in 2021, establishing itself as a leading Mediterranean port. This development has directly created over 3,000 jobs for local community. In total, the efforts have contributed over 1.4 billion euros to local community.
Piraeus Port is the closest European port to the Suez Canal, making it a crucial gateway for Asian goods, including those from China, to enter Europe. Piraeus' development has attracted cargo from multiple countries as a transshipment hub to Europe, significantly enhancing international trade efficiency and reducing shipping costs.
The success of the Piraeus project serves as a vivid example of the BRI and stands as a significant achievement in the cooperation between China and Greece. As long as both China and Greece remain committed to their shared goals, uphold the principles of consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits, and continue to foster a spirit of cooperation and mutual prosperity, by aligning their national development strategies, it is believed that practical cooperation between China and Greece will continue to yield even more fruitful results in the future.
GT: There are voices trying to undermine the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Greece, the narratives like "China's investment in global ports is a threat." How do you view these voices?

Xiao: China's promotion of the joint construction of the BRI is not driven by geopolitical maneuvering, nor does it pursue self-interest for hegemonic purposes. And, China does not seek to create disruptive alliances. Over the past decade since China introduced the initiative, it has consistently adhered to the principles of mutual consultation, cooperation, and shared benefits. As a result, the Belt and Road has evolved into a widely embraced international public good and a platform for international cooperation. There are some voices alleging that China's investment in Piraeus Port has "non-commercial purposes," which are entirely baseless.
The facts demonstrate that China's cooperation with relevant countries, including Greece, in port development is aimed at promoting economic and trade cooperation between nations. This cooperation contributes to local economic development, infrastructure improvement, and job creation. It is based on mutual benefit and results in win-win outcomes for all parties involved.
In my previous introduction, I highlighted the outstanding achievements that COSCO Shipping Group has secured in operating Piraeus Port. It has transformed Piraeus into a port of win-win cooperation, green development, economic growth and more. The international community has widely recognized these accomplishments, and high-ranking Greek officials, including the President and Prime Minister, have praised the mutually beneficial nature of this project.
In 2022, Piraeus Port also received awards such as the "Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Industry" award from the Greek Ministry of Tourism and the "Diamonds of the Greek Economy" award from Hellenic Shipping News. These accolades further illustrate the widespread recognition and approval of the Piraeus Port project by Greek society.
China's practical cooperation with countries around the world in infrastructure development, including port construction, strictly adheres to the principles of consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits. It aims to create more opportunities for mutual development. This cooperation is conducted transparently and openly, without posing any security threats to any country.

GT: With the optimization of anti-pandemic policies, Greece is expected to see more Chinese tourists. What do you think are the opportunities for cooperation between China and Greece in tourism and cultural exchanges?

Xiao: China and Greece are both ancient civilizations and significant global tourist destinations. People to people exchanges are essential components of practical cooperation. The tourism industry is one of the pillars of the Greek economy, contributing some 20 percent to Greece's GDP. China, with the world's largest middle-income population, has seen rapid development in the tourism market.
In the post-pandemic era, both China and Greece will continue to actively implement the 2022-2024 Joint Action Program, focusing on enhancing cooperation in tourism.
Both sides will make full use of existing tourism cooperation platforms and utilize platforms like the China International Travel Mart to promote bilateral tourism cooperation. Efforts will also be made to enhance visa processing efficiency, and increase direct flights.
I believe that the orderly recovery of China's outbound tourism will enhance the friendship between Chinese and Greek people, strengthen the ties of cultural exchange between China and Greece, and better leverage the tourism industry's significant role in promoting economic development and deepening the friendship between the two countries.

GT: The New Democracy party, led by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, recently won a second four-year term. What are your expectations for bilateral cooperation in the coming months?

Xiao: The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies. China and Greece are comprehensive strategic partners with a history of friendly exchanges dating back thousands of years. In the 51 years since establishing diplomatic relations, both countries have navigated the changing international landscape. Both sides have demonstrated mutual understanding and support on issues of core interests and major concerns. The two countries have become an exemplary model of peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation between nations of different scales, systems, national conditions, and civilizations.

Following the re-election of the New Democracy Party government, they have continued to support the co-development of the BRI and cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries. They are willing to work hand in hand with China to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.

I believe that in the future, under the guidance of the high-quality construction of the BRI, both sides will promote the realization of China's modernization model and Greece's enhancement of its national competitiveness. Together, both sides will nurture new areas of cooperation such as green development and the digital economy, bringing greater prosperity to the people of both countries.

GT: How do you evaluate the cooperation achievements between the two countries under BRI? And, in which areas could the two countries ramp up their cooperation?

Xiao: China and Greece, despite being geographically distant, have a history of communication dating back over 2,000 years through the ancient Silk Road that spanned east and west. Today, in the midst of deepening globalization, the cooperation in building the BRI is once again connecting the two great civilizations.
With the joint efforts of China and Greece, their mutually beneficial cooperation has yielded fruitful results. This has not only enriched the content of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Greece but also has brought tangible benefits to the people of both countries.
Since China COSCO Shipping took over the management of the Piraeus Port, the port has experienced a remarkable transformation. The container throughput has grown from 880,000 TEUs in 2010 to over 5 million TEUs today, making it a leading port in the Mediterranean.
The China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line, from its inception, has become the third trade corridor between China and Europe, in addition to traditional maritime routes and China-Europe freight trains.
China's State Grid Corporation's investment in the Greek national electricity grid project, and State Power Investment Corporation's acquisition of the Kafireas wind power project have alsoy generated significant economic and social benefits.
In the journey to develop green and digital economies and to build new national competitiveness in Greece, both China and Greece can strengthen their partnership through high-quality cooperation in the BRI. We can consolidate and deepen existing cooperation projects, advance connectivity cooperation represented by Piraeus Port and the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line.

GT: In your opinion, what areas of deep cooperation could China and Greece engage to address climate change and promote green, low-carbon transformation?

Xiao: This summer, Greece experienced extreme high temperatures and wildfires, while many regions in China faced high temperatures and extreme rainfall. Both China and Greece are victims of global climate change and share common aspirations and motivations in addressing climate change.
China adheres to the concept of new development and actively promotes green and low-carbon development, fulfilling international commitments in addressing climate change. In recent years, Greece has also been proactive in addressing climate change issues, enacting clear emission reduction legislation, advancing energy structural adjustments, and vigorously developing a green economy.
The concept of green development is increasingly being reflected in the cooperation projects between the two sides.
Chinese new-energy vehicles have entered the Greek market this year. China and Greece have strengthened their strategic alignment in technology development under the framework of the China-Greece Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation and the Belt and Road Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan.
In the Memorandum of Understanding on China-Greece Scientific and Technological Cooperation signed by the two countries' science and technology departments last year, addressing climate change emerged as a key area of collaboration, with a focus on forest management, challenges related to water resource biodiversity, and climate adaptation policies. Both countries have already established a solid cooperation foundation in green and low-carbon transformation fields such as biomanufacturing and solar energy.
China and Greece have vast rooms for cooperation related to mitigating global climate change by promoting green growth.

China's solar power industry is generating new income for residents in Yantai, East China's Shandong Province, with fruit, vegetables and other economic crops being planted under photovoltaic (PV) panels, according to a Monday press release.

On the hillside of Fajuan village in Yantai, PV panels continually turn sun lights into green energy to supply many households, while fruits, vegetables and Chinese Traditional Medicine crops planted under the panels brought new incomes for villagers.

"I received 2,000 yuan ($ 280 dollar) per mu for renting the land for the PV panels, and I grow cherry under the panel, which is a double income," said local resident Wang Hongkui.

A new solar power project in Yantai has recently been connected to the power grid and entered operation. The project combined local farming features with solar power, allowed villagers to plant organic vegetables, fruit, and herbs under the PV panels.

The PV power station can produce 70.22 million kWh annually, and bring over 500,000 yuan to more than 700 residents. The solar power can save 21,417 tons of coal and reduce 57,160 tons of carbon dioxide emission.

Yantai power company, under the State Grid Corporation of China, has established PV projects that combined fishery and PV, animal husbandry and PV and farming and PV. The share of power generation rose as established and gridded more new energy projects.

As of the end of September, Yantai's green energy generating capacity has reached highest amount in Shandong to 11.75 million kWh, accounted for 54.49 percent of the Yantai's total generating capacity.

According to data from the local energy administration, Shandong's the new energy generating capacity in the first half of 2023 reached 83.82 million kWh. The PV generating capacity surged by 120 percent to 49.46 million kWh compare to the end of 2020.

China has focused on green energy development in light of the country's "dual carbon" goals.

The Hangzhou Asian Games in East China's Zhejiang Province, as the latest example, applied green sporting venues equipped with wind, photovoltaic and other clean energy, has realized 100 percent green power generation.

Official data showed that China's electricity generated on renewable resource reached to 1.34 trillion kWh in the first half of 2023.

China will further pursue high-level opening-up in the services sector and will shorten the negative list for investment in the country's free trade zones (FTZs). The country will also strive to roll out a negative list for cross border services trade, a vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

"At present, the negative list for foreign investment access in the pilot FTZs has been cleared for the manufacturing industry, and the focus next will be on promoting the opening-up of the services industry," Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping told a press conference at the State Council Information Office on Wednesday.

"We will work with relevant departments to conduct in-depth research and promote the rational shortening of the negative list for foreign investment in the pilot FTZs. Meanwhile, we will promote the introduction of a negative list for cross-border services trade and lead the country's continued opening-up," Sheng said.

On Tuesday, a seminar was held in Beijing to mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of China's first pilot FTZ.

China's top leaders have recently delivered instructions on advancing the development of pilot FTZs, calling for higher-level pilot FTZs and enabling the pilot FTZs to play an exemplary role.

China should pursue high-level opening-up with institutional innovation at the core, coordinate development and security, align domestic rules with international economic and trade rules, further promote institutional opening-up, strengthen overall planning and systematic integration of reform, and promote innovative development of the entire industrial chain, according to the instructions.

Tu Xinquan, dean of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, told the Global Times that China's FTZs have made great progress in the past decade but further improvement and breakthroughs are needed.

"The further opening-up of the services sector will be a major area to work with," Tu said. "Due to the nature of services, there would be better results if all FTZs could implement new and innovative opening-up measures in services simultaneously, under coordinated orchestration by the central government."

Experts said that as China is preparing to join high-level international agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), further liberalizing the services trade and investment will be productive.

Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Wednesday said that it is important that the experience from the FTZs should be a template for other areas in the country.

Over the past decade, each pilot FTZ has made many iconic and groundbreaking achievements in institutional innovation, playing the role of comprehensive experimental platforms for reform and opening-up, according to officials at Wednesday's press conference.

China has 21 pilot FTZs. While they occupy less than 0.4 percent of China's land area, they attracted 18.1 percent of total foreign investment and contributed 17.9 percent of the country's total foreign trade in 2022. In the first half of 2023, the ratios were further increased to 18.4 percent and 18.6 percent, respectively.

The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), the inaugural pilot FTZ in China, has seen an increasing number of newly established firms and an improving business environment over the past decade, according to a white paper released Wednesday. The zone had attracted 84,000 new enterprises by the end of 2022.

In the first eight months of this year, the foreign trade volume in the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone grew by 17 percent year-on-year to 341.18 billion yuan ($46.67 billion), state broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday. The growth rate was way higher than the province's foreign trade growth, which came in at 0.2 percent during the period.

The vast potential of China's domestic consumer market was on full display on Friday, the first day of Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, as catering and the box office embraced significant increase in business activity. 

Starting from starting from September 29 to October 6, the 8-day-holiday is the longest public holiday of the year. Analysts expect to see a surge in domestic consumption. 

Multiple entertainment and consumption areas in Beijing welcomed crowds of visitors on Friday as 60 major business districts across the capital city saw a total of 6.89 million people visit, an increase of 11.9 percent year-on-year, according to the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau on Saturday. 

The bureau also reported total daily sales of nearly 100 shopping malls, supermarket, online and offline stores, restaurants reached 1.39 billion yuan ($190.54 billion), up 40.4 percent year-on-year. 

According to data from Chinese food delivery platform Meituan and Dazhongdianping, a Chinese version of Yelp, as of Friday noon, the volume of dine-in order increased by 110 percent over the first day of 2022 National Day holidays.

China’s total box office (pre-sale included) of new films during the 2023 Golden Week holidays crossed 1 billion yuan as of 21:18 on Saturday, according to ticketing platform Dengta. The top three are all domestic films - Under the Light, Ex-files 4: Marriage Plan and Korean War-themed epic The Volunteers: To the War. 

Chinese officials have vowed to ramp up proportion of electric vehicles (EVs) in official car fleets, as part of the government's efforts to promote green car sales and EV sector growth. 

The National Government Offices Administration (NGOA) said in an online post last Saturday that it held a meeting on promoting EVs and management of official car fleets from September 26 to 27 in the Xiong'an New Area in North China's Hebei Province. Local officials from 31 provincial-level regions attended the meeting. 

The meeting called on all levels of departments in charge of official car fleets to fully implement various policies on promoting EVs, strengthen cooperation with industry regulators, improve supplementary systems, and increase the use of NEVs, according to the post.  

The meeting noted that official fleets are important assets crucial for ensuring efficiency of Party and government departments and public institutions. Strengthening management of official fleets and promoting government departments to use more EVs is important work to consolidate the results of institutional reform.

In 2015, China released a guideline on reforming the country's official fleet system at all central government departments. To further strengthen the management of official fleets, the NGOA released interim regulations on management of official car fleets on September 12, 2023.

The regulations placed a priority on facilitating the use of EVs as a proportion of government car fleets. Central institutions are required to make annual plans on renewal of official vehicles, including the number NEVs, and ensure the proportion of NEVs meets requirement. 

As the leading NEV producer in the world, China has issued over 70 administrative measures to encourage the nascent industry to grow during recent years, which include carrying out innovative projects and forming manufacturing centers for batteries, according to Xinhua.

According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China's new-energy vehicle production and consumption rose by 36.9 percent and 39.2 percent year-on-year, respectively, to 5.43 million and 5.37 million in the first eight months of 2023.

SA58, a new anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody nasal spray, has shown favorable efficacy in preventing COVID-19 infection, said two preliminary reports.

To test the efficacy and safety of the spray, which was developed by China's Sinovac Life Sciences Co, clinical studies were conducted with medical personnel working in designated COVID-19 hospitals and makeshift hospitals in the city of Hohhot in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, as well as with voluntary workers from 21 construction sites in Beijing.

The effectiveness of SA58 in preventing infection among Hohhot's medical staff was as high as 77.7 percent, and SA58 was able to lower the risk of COVID-19 infection by 61.83 percent among the study participants in Beijing, said the research results published on medRxiv, a preprint server for health sciences.

While the data has shown satisfactory efficacy and safety of SA58 in reducing symptomatic COVID-19 infections in healthy adults with early exposure within 72 hours, it cannot yet represent other kinds of groups including the elderly and people with underlying diseases.

SA58 has advantages over intramuscular injections, as it is less invasive and more acceptable to recipients. It is also convenient for medical personnel and other high-risk groups to use, said the research.

China successfully launched four interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) satellites developed by Chinese private satellite developer GalaxySpace using the CZ-2D rocket at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in North China's Shanxi Province on Thursday, forming the first wheel-pattern satellite formation in the world, GalaxySpace told the Global Times on Thursday.

The four satellites - composed of a master satellite and three assistant satellites - are the world's first X-band InSAR earth imaging system in a four-satellite formation, said the company. The master satellite weighs about 320 kilograms (kg) and each assistant satellite weighs about 270 kg.

These satellites will constitute the first wheel-pattern satellite formation in the world, with the master satellite in the center and the three assistant satellites evenly distributed on the "hub" around it.

Compared with traditional interferometric satellite systems, the wheel-pattern formation has the advantages of relatively stable formation configuration, multiple interference baselines and high mapping efficiency.

The satellites are competent in mapping global non-polar regions at a scale of 1:50,000, which can achieve the high-precision mapping of global continents in a rapid and efficient manner.

The satellites will be a powerful tool for early identification of major geological hazards in complex areas due to their millimeter-level deformation monitoring capability, which can provide data support for exploration and the prevention of land subsidence, collapse, landslides and other disasters.

GalaxySpace has greatly improved the development efficiency for small-scale development of civil SAR satellites through digital simulation, automated testing and process optimization at the stages of satellite scheme design, entire satellite integration and launch site testing, while reducing the development duration by more than 60 percent compared to the conventional development period, the company said.