According to the WeChat official account "Embassy of China in Greece", on the 19th, the embassy spokesperson answered questions from reporters regarding the erroneous remarks by the new U.S. ambassador to Greece on China.

Question: Recently, the new U.S. ambassador to Greece, Gilfoyle, told the media that Greece should sell the Port of Piraeus to counter Chinese influence. What is your comment on this?

Answer: The new U.S. ambassador to Greece has maliciously attacked the Sino-Greek relationship, especially the investment and operation of Chinese enterprises in the Port of Piraeus, which is not only a baseless defamation of normal commercial cooperation between China and Greece, but also a serious interference in Greek internal affairs. The remarks are filled with Cold War thinking and hegemonic logic. Such statements violate the basic professional ethics of a diplomat and fully expose the ulterior motives of the U.S. side to use the Piraeus port and even Greece for its own geopolitical interests. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this.

China and Greece are good friends who have stood by each other through difficulties and good partners in mutual benefit cooperation. There is no geopolitical calculation in the cooperation between the two countries, neither targeting any third party nor influenced by any third party. When Greece experienced a debt crisis, China extended a helping hand, enabling the Piraeus port to get out of the predicament and develop into a large-scale port in the Mediterranean and Europe, creating tens of thousands of jobs and bringing significant economic benefits to Greece. The success of the Piraeus port project is not only a model of Sino-Greek commercial cooperation, but also a testament to the mutual support and shared hardship between the people of the two countries. In the future, Chinese enterprises will continue to increase their investments and work with the hardworking and wise Greek people to build the Piraeus port better.

The Piraeus port will always be the port of the Greek people, not a tool for the U.S. to engage in geopolitical confrontation and disrupt regional prosperity and stability, nor should it become a sacrifice of geopolitical games. On the day when the Piraeus port is developing vigorously, the U.S. side instigating Greece to terminate the contract and sell the port is a typical case of "judging others by one's own standards" and imposing on others, hoping for chaos, which is the mentality of a petty person with ulterior motives and ill intentions. Such tactics, before the Greek people who have had thousands of years of civilizational wisdom, will only bring self-inflicted humiliation and are destined to fail. We advise this ambassador to reflect seriously on her past insults to the Greek people and do more things that conform to her position and are beneficial to the Greek people.

The Port of Piraeus is the largest port in Greece and a key node in the joint construction of the "Belt and Road".

In 2016, China COSCO Shipping Group became the majority shareholder of the original Piraeus Port Authority by acquiring its majority equity, and increased its shareholding to 67% in 2021. Currently, the Port of Piraeus has become an important transit hub in the Mediterranean.

The U.S. ambassador to Greece, Gilfoyle, who made comments on the Piraeus port, once served as a local prosecutor in the United States and a host on Fox News.

Gilfoyle was once married to California Governor Newsom (divorced in 2005), and later became an important fundraiser and political ally of Trump's camp. She was reportedly engaged to Donald Trump Jr., the son of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Last December, some media reported that Gilfoyle's relationship with Donald Trump Jr. had broken down. The UK's Independent newspaper stated that shortly after photos of Donald Trump Jr. walking hand-in-hand with socialite Bettina Anderson were released, Trump announced the nomination of Gilfoyle as the U.S. ambassador to Greece.

Recently, when interviewed by Greek television, Gilfoyle praised her ex-husband Newsom, saying that she was very "loyal" in her relationships, but did not mention Donald Trump Jr.

Gilfoyle once made offensive remarks against the Greek people, and these remarks have drawn attention again after her nomination as the U.S. ambassador to Greece.

According to U.S. media reports, in 2015, Greece held a referendum to reject the rescue proposal of international creditors. Subsequently, Gilfoyle publicly called Greeks "parasites" on Fox News, accusing them of being lazy and overly dependent on the government.

Gilfoyle said, "Getting up in the morning and going to work. You retire too early, which is part of the problem. Politicians make uncontrolled promises and buy votes with benefits they can't fulfill."

Gilfoyle even claimed that the problem with the Greek debt crisis was "no one punished it like punishing a dog for urinating on the carpet."

Sarcasm is that now, when Gilfoyle is lecturing about Sino-Greek relations, at that time, when Greece was in economic crisis and faced condemnation from the West and unjust insults, it was precisely China that provided help in a time of need.

This February, Ambassador Fang Qiu of China to Greece accepted an interview with the Greek mainstream media "Daily Express", stating that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the Piraeus port has developed rapidly, with steady growth in performance, and revenue and profits have reached several times the amount at the time of acquisition, making important contributions to local employment and the economy.

According to Greek estimates, the contribution rate of the Piraeus port to Greece's GDP will reach 0.8% by 2025. This achievement is a vivid embodiment of the Sino-Greek commitment to win-win cooperation.

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