US Pressures Greece to Sell Port Operated by Chinese Firms, Greece Refuses

The US ambassador to Greece recently urged Greece to sell the Piraeus port operated by a Chinese company, which was strongly criticized by China. Several Chinese media outlets have paid attention to this dispute, saying "China has made its first response to the port issue." According to a report from the Greek political media website Parapolitika on the 19th, citing statements from several Greek political figures, the positive effects of Chinese investment in the port have been widely recognized.

The US ambassador to Greece, Gillfoyle, in an interview with Greek Antenna TV last week, claimed that the presence of China Shipping Container Line (COSCO) in the Piraeus port in southern Greece is "regrettable." She said there are ways to "bypass" this situation, such as increasing the throughput of other ports or selling Piraeus port. Gillfoyle also stated that having American infrastructure is crucial for supporting Greece's development, which can increase the cargo throughput of other ports and regions, thereby "balancing" China's influence.

The Greek website "ieidiseis" reported that in March this year, the media had previously disclosed that the US government had pressured Greece to limit the activities of Chinese companies in the Piraeus port, "which is inevitably related to the US adding COSCO to the 'military-affiliated entities' list." The report cited statements from three informed sources, saying that the US government is working to weaken China's global port network and hopes to place more strategic ports under Western control.

"The new US ambassador to Greece has made baseless attacks on Sino-Greek relations, especially on the investment and operation of Chinese enterprises in the Piraeus port, which is not only a malicious defamation of normal commercial cooperation between China and Greece but also a serious interference in Greek internal affairs, filled with Cold War thinking and hegemonic logic," said a statement published on the WeChat official account of the Chinese Embassy in Greece on the 19th. The embassy spokesperson said that the Piraeus port will always be the port of the Greek people, not a tool for the US to conduct geopolitical confrontation and disrupt regional prosperity and stability, nor should it become a sacrifice of geopolitical games.

Public information shows that the Piraeus port is one of the gateways for Asian goods to reach Europe. In 2016, under pressure from European creditors in Greece, Greece had no choice but to sell this ancient port.

Greek Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lana Zokiou clearly stated on the 18th: "The majority of shares in the Piraeus port were transferred during the Greek debt crisis, when China was the only one to submit an offer, and the Greek government respects the agreements signed at that time."

The Greek media Parapolitika reported that the parliamentary spokesperson of New Democracy, Makarios Lazariadis, said that in 2008, Greece granted the strategic concession rights of the Piraeus port to Chinese companies, "and the facts have proven that this decision was crucial for the Greek economy at that time."

The report said that another MP, Dimitris Kerydis, said that China's investment in the Piraeus port is an undeniable success. He said that this cooperation "modernized and upgraded the Piraeus port, making it one of the most important ports in Europe," bringing multi-faceted positive impacts to the national economy. Kerydis also emphasized: "This successful investment should not be confused with Greece's geopolitical positioning." (Special correspondent Liang Manyu, Global Times reporter Ren Zhong)

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849362401055872/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author."