Greece woos investments on Chinese foreign minister’s visit

[beijingwalker]

Greece woos investments on Chinese foreign minister’s visit
By ELENA BECATOROS
October 27, 2021


ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek officials sought to expand Chinese investment in the country during talks on Wednesday with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, that also touched on regional geopolitics, sports and minorities.

Greece recently emerged from a brutal decade-long financial crisis that wiped out a quarter of its economy and has been eager to attract international investments. China, which is constructing ports, railways and other infrastructure in dozens of countries around the world under its Belt and Road Initiative, is already heavily involved in Greece.

The Chinese company Cosco Shipping now owns 67% of Greece’s Piraeus Port Authority, one of the largest ports in Europe, after Greek lawmakers ratified the sale of a 16% stake in the company on top of the 51% Cosco already held.

Greece also granted Cosco another five years to follow through with investments that it had promised to make as part of its deal to buy a majority stake in Piraeus.

“We look forward to new investment projects in the largest port of the Mediterranean, one of the largest in the world,” Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said after his meeting with Wang in the Greek capital.

“We have repeatedly said Greece can be a gateway from Asia into Europe, an energy hub,” Dendias said, noting the two had discussed deepening economic relations between the countries, as well as increasing cultural and tourism ties.

Cosco acquired the 51% stake in the port of Piraeus in 2016, under a Syriza-led government.

Greece woos investments on Chinese foreign minister's visit

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek officials sought to expand Chinese investment in the country during talks on Wednesday with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, that also touched on regional geopolitics, sports and minorities.

apnews.com

 

[MH.Yang]

If two thousand years ago, Greece was worth investing. It is close to Egypt and West Asia, and the Mediterranean is also very suitable for navigation.
But now Greece's geographical location is not good. What is really worth investing in are Thrace, Istanbul and the east coast of the Aegean Sea.
If the Chinese want to sail to southern Europe, Italy is obviously more suitable. If the Chinese want the Eurasian bridge, the Turks control Istanbul. Greece is too far from Western Europe and there are no large economies around it.
Moreover, Greece is short of resources and low industrial capacity. The industry of the Ottoman Empire was very poor, and the only industries were concentrated in rumiya, Thrace and bursa, and the Peloponnesian region has no industrial base. Even the whole Balkan Peninsula is mostly mountainous with a small population, which is not suitable for industrial development.
Therefore, Greece is only suitable for investment in agriculture, tourism and shipping. This also means that Greece's economic model is mainly foreign exchange, and such a country is vulnerable to the world situation. The Greek govt is a typical small government with low control ability.
Therefore, Greece's economic stability is particularly fragile and not suitable for investment.