Statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, following his meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Wang Yi (New York, 25 September 2019)

Today I had the pleasure of meeting with the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi – a meeting that was not just a courtesy meeting or simply in the framework of the UN General Assembly. It also was of a preparatory character, on the one hand, for Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ visit to Shanghai, and also for President Xi’s visit to Athens this November.

This is part of a long series of meetings we will be having with the Chinese side in order to expand our trade relations and facilitate Chinese investments in various sectors of the Greek economy that are sectors of shared interest.

We also met earlier, in the context of the Ancient Civilizations Forum, an initiative that was launched in cooperation between the Greek and Chinese sides; an initiative that harnesses what we call ‘soft power’ in diplomacy – in other words, the potential for culture to play a role. It is tangible and important.