Athens, 24 May 2022

Online meeting of President of Hellenic Parliament with Chairman of National People's Congress of People's Republic of China

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Greece and China, the President of the Hellenic Parliament Constantine Tassoulas met today, via teleconference, with the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China Zhanshu Li. During the meeting, the excellent level of relations between Greece and China was confirmed, while at the centre of the discussion were regional and international issues of common interest, with an emphasis on issues of deepening cooperation between the two countries in the fields of the economy and trade, as well as on the prospects of further improving the relations between the Hellenic Parliament and the National People's Congress of China. 

During the meeting, the President of the Parliament said that "today, the situation is very alarming and we hope that the principles that China defends -especially as a member of the UN Security Council- ie the principles of national sovereignty, of border protection and of territorial integrity, which Greece also espouses, will, at the end of the day, prevail".

"Our societies, instead of striving for growth and security, are being tested" said Mr Tassoulas, stressing that "initiatives on growth and security cannot flourish while such an inhumane war is being waged following the Russian invasion in Ukraine, which is not only causing human casualties but is also gravely affecting the global community regarding the suppply chain and the energy prices".

The President of the Hellenic Parliament accepted an invitation by the Chairman of the Chinese National People's Congress to visit China soon, in the hope, as he said, to contribute to the improvement of relations between the two countries.

For his part, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China referred to the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Greece, underlining that this meeting presents an opportunity to exchange views on "the China-Greece bilateral relations, as well as on issues of common interest" so that -as he said- "we may promote an in depth development of mutually beneficial cooperation". 

Then, Mr Zhanshu Li noted that "under the strategic guidance of the leadership of both countries, the two sides hold regular exchanges of views at high level, with mutual political trust". 

The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China pointed out that we are "at a new historic beginning", where the Chinese side "is willing to make an effort, along with the Greek side" to implement the important agreements between the leaders of the two countries and to promote "the overall strategic partnership between Greece and China, in order to achieve more growth".* 

Present at the meeting were the Chairman of the Greece-China Friendship Group Ioannis Tragakis and the Diplomatic Advisor of the Parliament Ambassador Constantine Economidis.

*Mr Zhanshu Li's statements have been translated into English from the Greek interpretation. 

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