Greek gov't to establish new framework for long-term collaboration with China

Greece's newly-elected government intends to move quickly ahead to establish a new framework for mutually profitable collaboration with China in the future, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Friday.

Varoufakis said his country encourages the kind of long term investment Chinese shipping giant COSCO has made in Piraeus port in recent years.

The official paid a visit to COSCO's subsidiary Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) premises at Piraeus port and was briefed on the history of the investment, the progress achieved in recent years, current operations and the potential for further development.

PCT manages Piers II and III at Greece's largest port Piraeus since 2009 under a 35-year concession agreement. It has posted impressive results and promoted an ambitious plan to turn Piraeus into a leading international transit hub for products and services from Asia to Europe.

Commercial traffic through the port has increased from 685,000 TEUs in 2010 to 2.99 million TEUs in 2014, attracting international giants such as ZTE and Hewlett-Packard to use the cargo terminals as logistics centers for their products.

"One cannot fail to be impressed by what COSCO has achieved in the port of Piraeus," Varoufakis told Xinhua.

"It is a remarkable achievement and this country that is so thirsty and hungry for investment can only express its gratitude for the capacity that our two ancient civilizations have to cooperate in a mutually beneficial way," he said.

The Greek official expressed confidence that Piraeus port can become the starting point for the establishment of many joint ventures between the two countries.

He said Greece has public assets which will never be simply given away to investors who are not serious about investing in the long term.

"This is clearly a long term investment and it is the kind of investment that our new government wants to encourage," Varoufakis said.

Asked about the issue of the privatization of Piraeus Port Authority (PPA), Varoufakis said that the new Left-led government wants to "move quickly in creating the circumstances for the improvement of the collaboration between the Greek state and COSCO."

Questions had been raised whether the purchase of the 67 percent stake at PPA would go ahead after the new government took office.

"We shall within the next few weeks establish the framework that can move us forward," Varoufakis said.

"My message to all is that we are moving ahead to establish a new framework that is going to be the basis for a very long term and particularly profitable collaboration," he said.