[Photo:ANA-MPA/Andreas Bonetti]

The expansion of relations with China in the spheres of telecommunications, culture, cinema and the audiovisual cultural industry, as well as through economic cooperation and investments, constitutes a “strategic choice for Greece”, Greek Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Communication Minister Nikos Pappas said, following his meetings during a visit to Beijing for the “Belt and Road Forum”, as a member of PM Tsipras’ delegation.

“Greece's geostrategic position offers Chinese firms greater access to many neighbouring markets and, as Greece emerges from the economic crisis, it can play an important role for China's connectivity and networks in its region, putting emphasis on related Chinese investments” Pappas stressed, after his meeting with PRC Deputy Minister of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) Chen Zhaoxiong.

On his part, Chen Zhaoxiong referred to his country’s global high ranking in terms of users and consumers of telecommunications, Digital technology and IT and underlined the common understanding between Greece and China regarding the opportunities offered by Greece's infrastructure and geographic position.

Pappas discussed the key role of cooperation in cinema, radio and television and their importance for promoting a positive image of Greece and China, during a meeting with the Deputy Director of China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, Tong Gang. In this context, the Greek minister pointed to his ministry's efforts to establish an innovative legislative framework that aims to attract foreign film productions to Greece.

Meanwhile, the three-year action plan signed between Greece and China on infrastructure projects in transport, energy and telecommunications on the sidelines of the “Belt and Road Forum” gives the country a significant role in China’s One Belt-One Road strategy, noted Deputy Economy and Development Minister Stergios Pitsiorlas.

After Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ s visit to Beijing for the “Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation”, Greece’s status has been upgraded. Athens will have to develop a package of proposals that will be in line with the "One Belt-One Road" strategy, added Pitsiorlas.