Ambassador Xiao’s Remarks at the Press Conference of the Third Plenary Session |
2024-08-01 19:30 |
(Aug. 1st, 17:30, 2024) From July 15th to 18th, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing. The theme of this plenum is further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, and has attracted widespread attention from the international community. The plenary session sends four important signals and five new opportunities will be brought by the plenum to China-Greece cooperation. 1. Important Signals sent by the Third Plenary Session First Signal: Chinese Modernization is people-centered modernization which aims to ensure that the benefits of further reforms and opening up are shared by all Chinese people. It focuses on promoting social equity and justice, improving people's well-being, and advancing reforms based on the overall, fundamental, and long-term interests of the people. This involves implementing urgent and popular reform measures in areas such as income distribution, employment, education, social security, health care, elderly care, child care, and primary-level governance. The effectiveness of these reforms is measured by the people's sense of gain, happiness, and security. The reforms are designed for the people, depend on the people, and the outcomes are shared by the people. Second Signal: Further comprehensive reforms and opening up is regarded as China's second revolution, which will not only change China profoundly, but also change the world. China has written a new chapter in the two great miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability, lifting nearly 100 million rural people out of poverty and contributing over 70% to global poverty reduction. For many years, China's contribution to global economic growth has exceeded 30%, significantly advancing global development. China is committed to a peaceful development path, which is enshrined in the Constitution of the Communist Party of China and Constitution of the People's Republic of China. China proposes building new international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation, which is totally different from the traditional path of major powers. China upholds a new security concept based on common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security. China is the largest contributor of peacekeeping personnel among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. China led in the joint statement by the five nuclear-weapon states on preventing nuclear war, explored and practiced solutions to hot-spot issues with Chinese characteristics, mediated the reconciliation and restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. China enjoys continuous growth and will overcome the so-called "Thucydides Trap" and the "middle-income trap", and further enhance global peace and international justice. Third Signal: Opening up is a defining feature of Chinese modernization. Countries around the world can share the opportunities and benefits of China's further comprehensive deepening reforms. China will remain committed to the basic state policy of opening up to the outside world and adopt a more proactive strategy of opening up. China will continue to enhance the level of its open economy and develop new institutions for a higher-standard open economy. China will align itself with high-standard international economic and trade rules, achieve alignment and compatibility in rules, regulations, management, and standards in areas such as intellectual property protection, industrial subsidies, environmental standards, labor protection, government procurement, e-commerce and the finance sector, to create a transparent, stable, and predictable institutional environment. Fourth Signal: The implementation of the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative is a vivid practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind. China will continue to advance the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, leveraging the role of the "Group of Friends", utilizing the global development project pool and funding pool, as well as the global development promotion center network, and fostering global development partnerships to cultivate new drivers of global development. China will continue to implement the Global Security Initiative, promoting all countries to uphold the new security concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, practicing solutions with Chinese characteristics to address hotspot issues, participating actively in global security governance, and advancing the implementation of "Global Artificial Intelligence Governance Initiative" and the "Global Data Security Initiative". China will also continue to build mechanisms for the implementation of the Global Civilization Initiative, promoting civilization concepts that emphasize equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness, make full use of platforms like the Ancient Civilizations Forum and expand international cultural exchanges and cooperation. China advocates surpassing conflict and confrontation with peaceful development, replacing absolute security with common security, rejecting zero-sum games with mutually beneficial outcomes, preventing clashes of civilizations through exchanges and mutual learning, and protecting our planet with green development. Together with other countries, China aims to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity. 2. What new opportunities will the Third Plenary Session bring to China-Greece cooperation? China's comprehensive deepening of reforms and high-level opening up will not only benefit the Chinese people but also create new opportunities for countries around the world, including Greece. 1) New Opportunities for jointly building High-Quality BRI projects between China and Greece. China and Greece are natural partners in jointly building BRI. Our cooperation has produced exemplary projects like the Piraeus Port. Recently, the port was awarded the "Champion of the Greek Economy" and other prizes, which are important recognition from Greek society to Piraeus Port's contribution to promoting Greece's economic development as a leading port in Europe and the Mediterranean. China will improve mechanisms to promote jointly building high-quality BRI, continuing to implement the Belt and Road Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan and strengthening multilateral cooperation platforms in green development, digital economy, artificial intelligence, energy, taxation, finance and disaster risk reduction. China will improve the integrated land-sea-air network and build a three-dimensional connectivity network for BRI and advance major iconic projects and small but beautiful livelihood projects. In the future, China and Greece can deepen cooperation in traditional areas such as transportation, shipping, energy, telecommunications and finance while expanding cooperation opportunities in green, digital, technology and disaster risk reduction fields. We can work together to facilitate more Greek products entering the Chinese market, enhance the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Route, and promote the long-term, stable and sustainable development of the Piraeus Port. 2) New Opportunities for Green Cooperation between China and Greece The cooperation between China and Greece in green transformation is increasing gradually, which helps Greece implement its national energy and climate strategy and promote the green transformation. The Thrace Wind Power Project, invested by China Energy, has produced about 632 million kWh of green electricity, meeting the electricity needs of 30,000 Greek households, which equals to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 630,100 tons, and saving 255,300 tons of standard coal, hence providing support for Greece's energy transition. Since Chinese electric vehicles first entered the Greek market in 2023, brands like MG, BYD, Seres, Dongfeng Voyah, and Lynk & Co have exported nearly 3,000 electric vehicles to Greece, making China Greece's 10th largest source of car imports. In May this year, 250 new electric buses from China's Yutong were delivered to Athens and Thessaloniki, significantly accelerating the modernization and greening process of Greece's transportation sector and improving the quality of life for local people. The plenary session decided that China will accelerate the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development and support enterprises in upgrading traditional industries with digital and green technologies. In the future, China and Greece can better combine China's green technology advantages with Greece's geographical and natural conditions to continuously deepen cooperation in renewable energy, green transportation, environmental protection technologies and other fields. 3) New Opportunities for Greek Enterprises to Invest in China In the first half of this year, China saw the establishment of 26,870 new foreign-funded enterprises, an increase of 14.2% year-on-year. This proves that foreign companies continue to be optimistic about Chinese market and are more and more confident in expanding their investments in China. Foreign enterprises are an important force in advancing Chinese modernization. China will further improve the system and mechanism for high-level opening up, deepen the system reform of the foreign investment and outward investment management to enable foreign enterprises to better invest and operate in China, and create a market-oriented, law-based, and international business environment. This includes protecting the rights and interests of foreign investors by law, expanding the catalogue of encouraged industries for foreign investment, reasonably reducing the negative list for foreign investment access, fully lifting restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, and promoting the orderly opening up of telecommunications, internet, education, culture, and medical fields. China will also deepen reforms in the foreign investment promotion system and mechanism, ensuring national treatment for foreign enterprises in obtaining elements, qualifications, standards, government procurement, and supporting participation in upstream and downstream industrial chain collaboration. We welcome Greek enterprises to board the train of China's deepening reform and share development opportunities with China. 4) New Opportunities for Maritime Cooperation Both China and Greece are major maritime nations that highly value the protection and sustainable use of the oceans and marine resources. We both have long maritime civilizations. China is a global leader in shipbuilding and import and export of goods, while Greece is the world's largest shipping country. Our maritime cooperation has become an important link in China-Greece relations. China is willing to strengthen strategic alignment with Greece, focusing on the development of the maritime economy, enhancing maritime technological innovation, improving global maritime governance, and protecting the maritime ecological environment. China is ready to explore cooperation potential with Greece in maritime technology, green shipping, disaster prevention and mitigation. We will further leverage the leading and radiating effects of Piraeus Port, better connect it with the Hungary-Serbia railway, and discuss about establishing an economic and trade cooperation park based on the Piraeus Port, so as to turn Piraeus into a regional and global logistics hub. We will further leverage international maritime exhibitions and group visits to advance bilateral shipping industry cooperation, gradually extending to the entire industry chain including manufacturing, design, marketing, transportation, logistics and warehousing, and financial insurance. 5) New Opportunities for China and Greece to Jointly Maintain International Peace and Security China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of international order. In 2022, China proposed the Global Security Initiative, emphasizing a security concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security. Over the past two years, China has proposed 20 key cooperation directions under this initiative and made significant progress, including issuing special position papers on issues including the Ukraine crisis, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the Afghanistan problem. China successfully promoted the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, contributing to a "reconciliation wave" in the Middle East. China has also deeply engaged in peacekeeping, counter-terrorism, climate change, disaster prevention and reduction, digital governance, and combating transnational crime with all sides. Recently, China successfully mediated the internal reconciliation of 14 Palestinian factions, witnessing the signing of the Beijing Declaration on ending division and strengthening Palestinian national unity, bringing hope and future to the Palestinian people. This is an important step toward resolving the Palestinian issue and achieving peace and stability in the Middle East, which will help alleviate the tense and turbulent situation in the Middle East at its source, reduce the impact and pressure of immigrants from the Middle East to Greece and the EU, and will also contribute to easing the situation in the Red Sea, facilitating the early restoration of the Red Sea-Suez Canal-Eastern Mediterranean route, which is crucial for reducing inflation pressure in Greece and many European countries. China's active mediation in the Middle East for peace allows Greece and Europe to enjoy more stability dividends. China congratulates Greece on its successful election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2025-2026 term and appreciates Greece's slogan of "dialogue, diplomacy, democracy" as compass for its tenure.As a permanent member of the Security Council, China is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with Greece in UN to jointly push for the appropriate resolution of international and regional hotspot issues such as Ukraine and Gaza, jointly advocate and uphold an international order based on international law, and jointly contribute to promoting common security for mankind and lasting world peace. |