Editor's note: Decision Makers is a global platform for influential leaders to share their insights on events shaping today's world. Georgios Iliopoulos is the ambassador of Greece to China. This article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.
编者按：《决策者》是全球决策者分享对国际事务见解的平台。作者乔治·伊利奥普洛斯是希腊驻华大使。本文仅代表作者观点，不代表CGTN的观点。
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Greece and the People’s Republic of China. Admittedly, both countries have come a long way since June 1972. Greece has become a member of the European Union and is a pillar of stability in southeastern Europe, whereas China has risen to become the second economic power globally. Regardless of these changes and the transformation our world has been through over these last 50 years, both countries have always appreciated and respected each other. They have enjoyed, especially over the last years, a solid, friendly relationship on the political and institutional level, as it is evident by the numerous agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) that govern our relations, especially after the joint communique, of the establishment of comprehensive strategic partnership in 2006. The excellent relations that China and Greece enjoy are a true reflection of mutual understanding and affinity between two ancient civilizations, aiming to promote global peace, development and cooperation.
今年是希腊与中华人民共和国建交50周年。诚然，自1972年6月以来，希中两国都取得了长足进步。希腊已成为欧盟成员国，是东南欧稳定的重要支柱，而中国已崛起成为全球第二大经济体。尽管发生了这些变化，且纵使过去 50 年来世界风云变幻，两国始终相互欣赏和尊重。尤其是在过去几年里，两国在政治和制度层面上建立了稳固的友好关系。特别是在2006年，两国签署《关于建立全面战略伙伴关系的联合声明》之后，希中两国达成的众多协议和合作备忘录就是最佳例证。中国和希腊的良好关系是两个文明古国之间相互理解和亲近的真实反映，旨在促进全球和平、发展与合作。
Building on our high-level bilateral cooperation, Greece is open and welcomes new Chinese productive investments in fields where Greek enterprises enjoy a comparative advantage, such as transportation, energy, tourism, infrastructure, green and digital economy. We also wish to further strengthen our economic and trade ties with China, addressing asymmetries and imbalances that persist over the last few years.
在双边高水平合作基础上，希腊始终持开放态度，欢迎中方在希腊企业具有相对优势的领域进行新的产能投资，如交通、能源、旅游、基础设施、绿色与数字经济。我们也希望进一步加强与中国的经贸关系，改善过去几年持续存在的不对称和不平衡的情况。
In the maritime sector, our mutually beneficial partnership justifies our confidence in future common projects. The investment of China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) in Piraeus port is evidently a good example of the successful cooperation between Greece and China. With the combined efforts of Greek and Chinese partners, Piraeus has become a strategic hub for East–West shipping ties and a landmark project of our cooperation. The success of this investment is clearly demonstrated by the port’s annual turnover in 2021, which reached more than 150 million euros, increased by 16 percent over 2020. Besides Piraeus, we should not forget that over the past 17 years, Greek ship-owners have built more than 1000 vessels in Chinese shipyards, an investment worth over $70 billion, thus considerably contributing to the growth of the local shipbuilding industry and its suppliers. Greece and China play indeed a decisive role in the development of the world maritime trade. Our cooperation and solidarity in the sea goes beyond trade, addressing a wide range of issues, from piracy to humanitarian crises, such as the evacuation of citizens from distress areas.
在海事领域，两国互惠互利的伙伴关系证明了我们对未来共同项目的信心。中远集团投资比雷埃夫斯港显然是希中成功合作的典范。在希中两国合作伙伴的共同努力下，比雷埃夫斯港已成为连接东西方海运的战略枢纽，也是两国合作的标志性项目。2021年港口的年营业额超过1.5亿欧元，比2020年增长了16%，清楚地表明这项投资成果丰硕。除了比雷埃夫斯港，我们不能忘记，在过去17年里，希腊船东在中国船厂投建了1000多艘船，投资总额超过700亿美元，为当地造船业及其供应商的发展做出了很大贡献。希腊与中国在全球海上贸易的发展过程中确实发挥着决定性作用。我们在海事领域的团结合作不仅限于贸易领域，还致力于解决一系列广泛的问题，从打击海盗到应对人道主义危机，如在危险地区开展撤侨行动。
The energy sector also provides room for cooperation between Greek and Chinese companies and institutions. Our country is rapidly abandoning fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy and is becoming an energy hub for southeastern Europe, while China is accelerating its drive towards carbon neutrality. Several Chinese companies are already involved in projects in Greece, like China's State Grid Corporation, through its stake in the Greek Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO), or China Gezhouba Group International Engineering Co. Ltd. and Zhejiang Supcon Solar Technology Co. Ltd. for the engineering, procurement and construction of the Minos CSP power plant near Sitia on Crete. While the "green revolution” in Greece is gaining momentum and the country speeds up its process of energy diversification and carbon neutrality, the overhaul goes beyond traditional energy projects and spills over to the digital sector. In this context, the University of West Macedonia in Greece collaborates with Chinese Huawei in creating the first "green data center" in our country, which will replace the old, bulky and high energy consuming servers and units, saving considerable space and energy.
能源领域也为两国企业和机构提供了合作空间。我国正在快速淘汰化石燃料，转而使用可再生能源，同时正成为东南欧的能源中心，而中国正在加速实现碳中和。一些中国公司已经参与了希腊的项目，例如中国国家电网公司通过投资希腊独立输电运营商（IPTO）的股份参与项目，而中国葛洲坝集团国际工程有限公司和浙江可胜技术股份有限公司则参与了克里特岛西提亚附近的Minos塔式光热发电项目的采购招标与工程建设。希腊的“绿色革命”势头强劲，不断加快能源多样化和碳中和进程，而这一转型不仅涉及传统能源项目，还延伸至数字领域。在此背景下，希腊西马其顿大学与华为公司合作打造了我国首个“绿色数据中心”，它将取代老旧、笨重、高能耗的服务器和设备，节省大量空间和能源。
CGTN
Unfortunately, COVID-19 has hindered our academic exchanges and Greek students have not yet managed to return to their Chinese universities. Still, our countries’ institutions continue exploring ways to cooperate. Recently e.g., the Universities of Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras and Crete have signed a framework agreement with the Southwest University in Chongqing, introducing a master’s degree on the comparative approach of Greek and Chinese civilizations. The program will allow graduate students to study both in Greece and China, providing them with the opportunity to gain solid in-depth knowledge of the two civilizations, and will promote scientific research collaborations between our universities, paving the way for broader cooperation in the academic field in the future. Greece supports the development of cooperation programs in education with China and we look forward to welcoming Chinese students to our English-language university education programs. Over 200 foreign language programs for undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate studies, are expected to be offered soon to foreign students choosing to study in Greek universities.
遗憾的是，新冠肺炎疫情阻碍了两国之间的学术交流，希腊留学生返回中国的大学依然面临一些困难。尽管如此，两国机构仍在继续探索合作方式。近期，雅典大学、塞萨洛尼基大学、帕特雷大学和克里特大学与西南大学签署了一项框架协议，启动“中国—希腊文明比较”联合硕士项目。该项目将允许研究生在希腊和中国交流学习，为他们提供深入了解两种文明的机会，并将促进两国大学之间的科研合作，为将来更广泛的学术合作铺平道路。希腊支持发展与中国的教育合作项目，我们期待并欢迎中国学生修读我国大学的英语教学项目。我们计划很快将为选择在希腊大学学习的外国学生提供超过200个本科、硕士和博士研究生层次的外语教学项目。
Culture has also provided a strong basis for the development of our relations. Looking back, over the last few years, notable events such as the Cultural Year of Greece in China in 2008, the China-Greece Cultural Exchanges and Cultural Industry Cooperation Year 2017 have provided us with plenty opportunities to host significant and memorable cultural events, bringing closer together our peoples and countries. Even over the last couple of years, and in spite of the obstacles set by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing Greece - China Year of Culture and Tourism, and, of course, the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic ties, are celebrated successfully in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Greece as a major touristic destination is looking forward to welcoming once again, the Chinese tourists who wish to explore the riches of a historical and modern country.
文化也为两国关系发展奠定了坚实的基础。回顾过去几年，诸如2008“希腊文化年”、2017中国-希腊文化交流和文化产业合作年等重大活动，为双方举办重大、难忘的文化活动提供了充足的机会，拉近了两国人民的距离，使两国关系更加紧密。在过去的几年里，尽管新冠肺炎疫情造成了诸多不便，我们依然与中国文化和旅游部合作，成功举办了目前正在进行的“中国希腊文化和旅游年”，以及希中建交50周年系列庆祝活动。希腊作为主要旅游目的地，期待再次迎来中国游客，邀他们探索希腊的历史底蕴和现代风貌。
Taking into consideration our successful partnership over the last 50 years, I am confident that our two countries, China and Greece, two ancient civilizations and current promoters of multilateralism and enhanced international cooperation, will continue to deepen and intensify their relations for the interest of our peoples.
鉴于过去50年希中两国伙伴关系成果卓著，我相信中国与希腊，两个文明古国和多边主义与国际合作的推动者，将继续深化和巩固双边关系，以维护两国人民的利益。
In this context, I would like to wish to our countries and our peoples a happy 50th anniversary of the Greece-P.R. China diplomatic relations, and a prosperous future for our countries’ partnership.
在此背景下，值希中建交50周年之际，我谨祝愿希中两国及其人民幸福安康，祝愿两国伙伴关系蒸蒸日上。
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