Good evening! It gives me great pleasure to gather here with all my friends, old and new, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Greece, I would like to extend a warm welcome to you all and express my sincere gratitude to those who have long been committed to the friendly cooperation between China and Greece!
Now please allow me to introduce our wonderful young performers tonight: members of the Soong Ching Ling Peace Angel Art Troupe. They will later offer you a feast for the eyes. My special thanks go to Spanos, Sfakianakis and Syngelidis, for organizing this Chinese automobile brands pop-up show. We look forward to making greater contributions to Greece's response to climate change with Chinese new energy technologies.
The recently-held Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China put forward over 300 reform measures, sending a strong signal that China's efforts to deepen reform and open itself wider to the outside world will never stop. This will bring new opportunities to China and its partners in all areas.
Chinese path to modernization is by no means an accident of history, but rather, an inevitable trend of the times. It is the people's pursuit for a better life that propels the modernization forward. And it is the consistent technological innovation over the decades that ensures the success of this great endeavor. The process is unstoppable because it has 1.4 billion people behind it. European companies who lose interest in Chinese technologies would find themselves increasingly isolated and gradually losing their competitiveness in the global market.
We hope that the European Commission will respond to the calls of all parties and properly resolve the differences in the tariff increase on Chinese electric vehicles through dialogue and consultation based on the consensus reached by the leaders of China and Europe. The war in the east of Europe is still going on, and no one wants to see another trade war between the EU and its important trading partners. Historically, it was because Europe remained curious and kept exploring China that it had found one inspirations after another in the evolution of civilization. Today, China is experiencing an unprecedented wave of innovation. The curiosity and exploration of Chinese modernization will surely bring new vitality to Europe's progress. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato once said, "we hold fast ever to the heavenly way and follow after justice and virtue always." In the face of differences and difficulties, we expect the European side to move on the right path towards progress and show more political wisdom.
China has for many years been among the fastest-growing major economies in the world and accounted for around 30 percent of global growth. China maintains the world's top trading country in goods for seven consecutive years, and has become the major trading partner of more than 150 countries and regions. This year, China’s economy continues to be on a generally steady, sound and upward trajectory, with both effective improvement in quality and reasonable growth in quantity. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, from January to August, China's investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 9.6% and 11.7%, and the total import and export volume with the Belt and Road partner countries increased by 7% year-on-year. Recently, China has removed all access restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing, and more reform measures are expected.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of both sides, the China-Greece comprehensive strategic partnership has made great strides, and the two major ties between our two countries, mutually beneficial cooperation and civilization exchanges, have been consolidated and deepened.
——China-Greece economic and trade cooperation has achieved fruitful results. In the first half of this year, Greece's exports to China increased by 23.8% year-on-year, reaching 565 million US dollars, which means more and more Greek products are entering the Chinese market. The port of Piraeus became the seventh most important shipping hub globally. 250 Yutong e-buses were successfully delivered to Athens and Thessaloniki . Air China has announced five flights a week from Beijing to Athens, while Juneyao Airlines has commenced three flights from Shanghai to Athens. More than 180 Chinese companies participated in Posidonia 2024, and Greece is also busy preparing for the 7th China International Import Expo.
——The exchange and mutual learning between Chinese and Greek civilizations is thriving. This summer, with the support of the Center of Chinese and Greek Ancient Civilizations, more than 160 students from six Chinese universities arrived in Greece for a visiting exchange program. Several documentaries on mutual learning between Chinese and Greek civilizations have been or are being produced. The Hellenic Sinology Center was officially unveiled at Ionia University, and the third Confucius-Aristotle Symposium was successfully held in China. Scholars from the two countries will also jointly hold the World Classical Studies Conference this year, to provide inspiration and reference for solving the common challenges facing human society.
Ladies and gentlemen, friends,
Now, please join me in a toast to the great countries of the People’s Republic of China and the Hellenic Republic,to our people, to our prosperity,and to the enduring friendship between China and Greece. Yamas!
