According to Xinhua, experts in Greece praised the development the Port of Piraeus is experiencing, under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) during a two-day seminar. The event was a joint initiative by the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation in Greece and the Tsinghua University in China.
Mainly, the event ‘China, Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean’ took place in Piraeus, where Athanasios Platias, a professor at the University of Piraeus reported to Xinhua that
Greece historically has been a trading state and has a huge maritime industry. So naturally, Greece (is) fitted to this initiative because Greek ships were part of the Maritime Silk Road and Piraeus is a successful example.
During the seminar, Charalambos Papasotiriou, professor of international relations and strategic studies at the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences highlighted that the deal between China and Greece is a win-win situation because the port now has become an important hub.
He added that the investment was also profitable for COSCO and provided benefits for the Chinese exports.
For the time being, the port is operated by COSCO Shipping and has become one of the fastest growing container ports in the world.
Zhang Lihua, director of the Research Center for China-EU Relations at the Tsinghua University stated
The Belt and Road Initiative benefits not only China but also the countries along the route and European countries, like Greece. The initiative can promote infrastructure construction in countries in Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and some countries in Africa.
Zhao Kejin, deputy dean of the Tsinghua School of Social Sciences, supported that the BRI can be interpreted as a new plan for globalization.
