Many Western countries in the past decade or so have transitioned from eagerly accepting cheap goods and investment from China without giving much thought to the consequences, to a degree of disengagement as a result of the PRC’s overt commercial and geopolitical expansionism, as well as anxieties over the security implications of Chinese dominance in the communications technology sector.

The Belt and Road Initiative
A major manifestation of this expansionism is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), known in China as One Belt One Road and sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road. A global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013, it comprises six land corridors linked by road, rail, energy, and digital infrastructure, and the Maritime Silk Road linked by the development of ports. According to Wikipedia: “Supporters praise the BRI for its potential to boost the global GDP, particularly in developing countries. However, there has also been criticism over human rights violations and environmental impact, as well as concerns of debt-trap diplomacy resulting in neocolonialism and economic imperialism.”

As of the end of 2023, around 150 countries had signed up to the BRI, 17 of them in the EU, of which Greece was one. Notably, most Western European nations, except for Portugal, as well as Brazil and North America, have not signed up to the BRI. This has not prevented the growth of substantial Chinese investment in business in those countries. In the UK for instance, Chinese investment is active in consumer products and services, entertainment, media, and education, as well as energy, transport, and infrastructure (www.datenna.com).

Chinese investment in Greece
While the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said on more than one occasion that “China is not a major investor in Greece”, there have been some notable major projects, initiated in the wake of IMF pressure for Greece to privatise public assets at the time of the financial crisis.

The port of Piraeus
The most significant Chinese project in Greece is undoubtedly the takeover of the port of Piraeus. The port is owned by the Greek state and operated by Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) which is majority owned by China COSCO Shipping, the third largest container ship company in the world. Having initially acquired a stake of 51% in the PPA in 2016, the company increased its stake in 2021 and now owns 67%. The port has expanded under Chinese management and is now the Mediterranean’s busiest container port, also providing an important link in the Belt and Road Initiative. COSCO also holds important stakes in other European ports in Spain, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Italy. (www.europarl.europa.eu)

The Independent Power Transmission Operator
China has also invested in the Greek energy sector. The Independent Power Transmission Operator IPTO, more familiarly known by its Greek acronym ADMIE, which is responsible for the operation, maintenance and development of the national grid system in Greece, is 24 percent owned by the State Grid Corporation of China, which is the largest utility company in the world. The acquisition, which took place in 2017, won the Chinese company three places on the Board of Directors, including the post of Deputy CEO. (www.admie.gr)

China has more recently been expanding its investment in ADMIE. Ariadne Interconnection S.A., which was established in September 2018 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the IPTO/ADMIE Group, is the implementation vehicle of the Attica-Crete Interconnection, the main leg of the undersea electrical connection between Crete and the Greek mainland. A smaller undersea connection linking Kissamos with the Peloponnese is already operational, and it may be remembered that ADMIE’s proposal to run a high-tension cable via overhead pylons through Apokoronas and the Nomos of Rethymnon, to create a balancing connection between the two systems, is currently the source of dispute between ADMIE and the various municipalities which lie in the cable’s proposed path.

On Thursday 21st November, an agreement for the sale of 20% of the Ariadne Interconnection, to State Grid International Development (SGID), a wholly-owned subsidiary of State Grid Corporation of China, was signed by the ADMIE Chairman and CEO, Manos Manousakis, and the Chairman of SGID, Yu Jun. In his remarks at the signing, which took place in the presence of officials of the  Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Greece, and the Executive Vice President of State Grid Corporation of China, Mr Manousakis said:
“IPTO has proven to be a modern and extroverted European Operator, with know-how and an ambitious strategy. Our investments are oriented towards accelerating the energy transition and making Greece a strong infrastructure hub, at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and Asia. Strategic partnerships, such as the one with the State Grid Corporation of China, the Operator of the largest electricity transmission system in the world, contribute to achieving the above….” (www.naftemporiki.gr)

Apart from these projects, it would appear that the Prime Minister’s statement is justified, however it is clear that Greece is intent on maintaining friendly relations with China, and there are frequent contacts at both diplomatic, commercial and cultural levels. A report by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) on “Chinese influence in Greece”, published in August 2022 (https://cepa.org), suggested that Chinese influence has been visibly weakening in Greece: “On the one hand, closer political and military ties with Western partners, such as the US and France, have left limited space for China’s political clout in the country. On the other hand, China is no longer seen as the sole source of investment capital in the form of much-needed FDI [foreign direct investment]. Rather, China is one of the many potential sources Greece is now targeting and this has further weakened Beijing’s hand.” As a result, the report says, while China is still seeking to expand its economic presence in Greece, it is also focussing on cultural and educational ties, including contacts with universities, twinning arrangements with Greek towns and the promotion of Chinese language and culture.

Cultural diplomacy
The Confucius Institutes, a programme which comes under the PRC’s ministry of Education, seek to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, and facilitate cultural exchanges (Wikipedia). Beginning in 2004, the programme has spread worldwide, with 530 Confucius Institutes established in six continents as of 2019. Unlike other national cultural organisations such as the British Council, Alliance Française and Goethe Institute, the Confucius Institutes are generally established in host colleges and universities where they provide courses in Chinese language and culture. While they generally avoid political topics, concerns have arisen in the host organisations as to their possible influence on freedom of speech as well as the possibility of industrial espionage and also attempts to bring pressure to bear on expatriates who are unsympathetic to the Chinese government. As a result, there have been academic protests against the establishment of Confucius Institutes in some universities and others have terminated their contracts after a period of time. Most notably in the US, the majority of Confucius Institutes have closed following the Federal Government’s withholding of funding for Chinese studies from those universities which hosted them.

In Greece, there seem not to have been such reservations. The country has four Confucius Institutes: the Business Confucius Institute in Athens, established at the Athens University of Economics and Business in 2009, the Confucius Institutes of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Thessaly, established in 2018 and 2019 respectively, and the Confucius Institute at the University of West Attica, established in 2023, which apart from providing Chinese language education has a focus on Chinese traditional medicine. In 2019, Greece’s Laskaridis Foundation and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences set up a Centre for Chinese Studies in Piraeus, while a growing number of Greek universities are offering Chinese-language courses.

Ongoing contacts
High-level contact between the two countries continue to take place, with Beijing seeing Greece as a friendly partner who will help to bolster the PRC’s image with the European Union. Conversely, according to the CEPA report: “Over the last decade or so, Greek governments have paid a lot of attention to China’s growing political weight in the international arena. Greece’s standoff with Turkey has forced Athens to seek powerful political allies, and Greek decision-makers value China’s position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. In this respect, the frequent high-profile visits between the two countries deserve attention.”

On November 2nd-3^rd 2023, Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited China, the first Greek prime minister to do so for 7 years, and had talks with President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Qiang, and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhao Leji. The Chinese Ambassador to Greece, Xiao Junzheng, described the visit as “a journey of friendship built upon political mutual trust”, “a journey of cooperation anchored in common development”, and also “a journey of exchanges and mutual learning between two ancient civilizations”. (gr.china-embassy.gov.cn)

A year later, at the end of November 2024, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhao Leji made a reciprocal visit to Greece, during which he had meetings with both Mr Mitsotakis and the President Katerina Sakellaropoulou. According to a report in Haniotika Nea: “During the meeting there was a review of bilateral relations, and bilateral cooperation was discussed, especially in the fields of finance. tourism, culture and shipping. In addition the two men exchanged views on EU-Chinese relations. The Prime Minister reiterated Greece’s longstanding position on the need for open channels of communication between the EU and China on the major global challenges such as climate change. At the same time he stressed that Europe’s “derisking” strategy was aimed at ensuring the resilience of supply chains and restoring equilibrium to the trade balance.
(Haniotika Nea, 29/11/24)

Chinese relations with Crete in particular have been maintained, with regular visits from Chinese officials in diplomatic and commercial contexts. On his visit to Greece in November, Mr Zhao made a one-day visit to Crete, for a meeting with Regional Governor Stavros Arnautakis, who greeted him on his arrival at Heraklion’s Nikos Kazantzakis Airport. Last year, on 6th July 2023, the Chinese minister for Agricultural Development Tang Renjian, accompanied by the Chinese Ambassador in Greece Xiao Junzheng, also visited Crete for a working meeting with the Regional Governor, at which cooperation on tourism and agricultural exports were discussed.

Relations have also been established in the cultural and academic fields. In February 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Technical University of Crete and the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban), to promote bilateral cooperation in education and culture. The aim of the programme was to enable teaching of the Chinese language by a specialised Chinese teacher of the Hanban organisation, first to students and later to teachers and employees, but also to anyone interested from the local community. The teacher, Shiheng Zhu, now operates in the University’s Language Centre.

The University of Crete has also developed strong links with Chinese universities in recent years. On 13^th November the university’s website carried a report of a visit to China by a delegation of its staff, as follows:

“University of Crete Strengthens Ties with Chinese Universities through Strategic Partnerships
“A delegation from the University of Crete, consisting of Professor Maria Vamvakaki, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, Research Policy, and Lifelong Learning; Professor Melina Tamiolaki, Vice-Rector for Development, International Relations, and Outreach; and Ms. Evgenia Skountaki, Head of the Welcome Office, visited three prestigious Chinese universities between October 19th and 26th, 2024.

“During this visit, the University of Crete delegation aimed to further strengthen these relationships and foster new opportunities for collaboration. The itinerary included meetings at Tsinghua University in Beijing with key academic leaders: Professor Tang Xiaoyang, Dean of International Relations; Professor Shi Zhiqin, Director of the BRI Strategy Institute; and Professor Qi Haixia, Director of the China-Europe Cooperation Research Center. The delegation then proceeded to Shanghai, where they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) in a ceremony attended by President Li Yansong. Finally, they visited Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), a longstanding partner of the University of Crete.

“These discussions with university leaders and staff from international relations offices were centred on implementing joint initiatives and academic exchanges. A particularly touching highlight was the warm welcome extended by Greek Studies students in Shanghai and Beijing, who expressed a strong interest in visiting Greece and improving their Greek language skills.

“Through this visit, the University of Crete reaffirms its commitment to internationalisation, contributing to a dynamic network of partnerships and cultural exchanges with top institutions in China.”
(www.uoc.gr)

*The post has been updated to include more details of Chinese relations with Crete.