Athens (AFP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived in Athens on Sunday night for a three-day visit, meets on Monday with a Greek government seeking new investments, with the aim of further deepening bilateral cooperation "in all sectors".

Xi Jinping's visit is "of historical significance for the development of Sino-Greek cooperation" and will give "new impetus" to bilateral relations and Beijing's so-called "new silk roads" initiative, said Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"It is our duty to regularly improve our cooperation in all sectors," said the Chinese president in an article published Sunday by the daily Kathimerini.

Xi will meet with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday to sign cooperation agreements in the areas of education, merchant shipping and energy.

At the helm of Greece since July, the head of the Conservative government has worked hard to attract foreign investment to strengthen Greek growth after the debt crisis (2010-2018).

"There has never been a better time to write a new page of relations with China," said Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during a visit to Shanghai last week with a delegation representing 60 companies.

"Relations with Greece are a priority for China," said Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on Radio Thema. "China came to Greece to invest during the crisis when other countries stayed away," he said.

- Cosco, main investor in Greece -

Since the sale in 2008 of two terminals from the port of Piraeus to the Chinese shipping giant Cosco, Athens has gradually built a close commercial cooperation with Beijing.

Over the last fifteen years, Greek shipowners have built more than a thousand boats in China at a cost of more than 15 billion euros.

In 2016, the acquisition by Cosco, the main investor in Greece, of 67% of the shares of the port of Piraeus and the third and last terminal until 2052, confirmed the importance of China in Greece.

"The total investment of Cosco is expected to reach a total of one billion euros after the 600 million already invested over the last ten years and the creation of 3,000 jobs," said the Greek Prime Minister, during his visit to the Fair Shanghai imports.

Hong Kong-based Cosco (China Ocean Shipping Company) aims to transform Piraeus into a major center for maritime transit in south-eastern Europe, and to make it a bridge between Asia and Europe. Europe.

- New Silk Roads -

Greece has signed a € 906 billion investment program in "New Silk Roads", a controversial Beijing project to link China to Asia, Europe and Africa with ports, railways, airports and industrial parks.

About 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Greece in the next two years, compared with less than 200,000 in 2019, according to Mitsotakis, who is due to return to China in April 2020.

Another illustration of the rapprochement between the two countries: the grant this year of "gold visas" to 3,400 Chinese invested in Greek real estate, China arriving ahead of Russia and Turkey at the head of this program launched in 2013.

Designed for non-European citizens, this five-year renewable visa program in return for a minimum of 250,000 euros investment aims to strengthen the Greek real estate sector hit hard by the crisis.

Xi Jinping's visit to Greece is a milestone of his trip to Brazil where he is scheduled to attend the closing ceremony of the BRICS summit, which is being held from 13 to 14 November and brings together the leaders of the five countries: South Africa , Brazil, China, India and Russia.

burs-jph / hec / chv / plh

© 2019 AFP