On the afternoon of April 8, 2002, Vice President Hu
Jintao met with Greek Foreign Affairs Minister George
Papandreou at the Great Hall of the People.
Hu
welcomed Papandreou's another visit to China. He said that
both China and Greece are ancient civilizations, and the two
peoples have feelings of traditional friendship. Since the
two countries established diplomatic relations 30 years ago,
bilateral relations had developed smoothly. In particular,
Top leaders of both sides have made frequent
visits in recent years and cooperation in various fields are
constantly expanding. The two countries have the same or
similar views on many important international issues and
have good cooperation in this respect. He expressed
appreciation and gratitude for Greece's understanding and
support for China on such issues as Taiwan and human rights,
as well as its efforts in promoting the relationship between
China and the European Union as a member of the
EU.
Hu said that China and Greece had no
fundamental conflicts of interests, nor issues left over by
history. There are solid foundation and broad prospects for
the two countries to develop bilateral relations. China is
willing to work with Greece to develop new areas and new
ways of cooperation so as to further push forward bilateral
relations in the new century.
Papandreou
thanked Hu for the meeting. He said that he is glad to visit
China again. Greece-China relations have been developing
very well since the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Greece has paid special attention to developing relations
with China, and highly appreciated China's important role in
international affairs. Greece is willing to reinforce
bilateral cooperation and exchanges with China in various
fields. Greece will take the rotary chair of the EU in the
first half of next year, and would like to take this
opportunity to contribute to the development of EU-China
relations. Greece and China will host the Olympic Games in
2004 and 2008 respectively. Bilateral cooperation in this
field will help carry on the Olympic spirit and open a new
chapter in bilateral relations.
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