头条英文播报｜Xi begins state visit to Greece; BRICS Summit in Brazil next

Illustration by Yang Liu/China Daily

He calls for Beijing, Athens to cement ties by tapping ancient civilizations

President Xi Jinping called on China and Greece to tap their civilizations for wisdom and build a new type of international relations featuring respect, justice and mutually beneficial cooperation.

He made the remark in a signed article published on Sunday in the Greek newspaper Kathimerini (The Daily) as he kicked off a three-day state visit to the European country.

Xi will travel to Brazil on Tuesday at the invitation of President Jair Bolsonaro and will attend the 11th BRICS Summit on Wednesday and Thursday.

In Greece, Xi is scheduled to have talks with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The leaders are also expected to make cultural exchanges and advocate dialogue between civilizations.

Recalling a stopover on the Aegean island of Rhodes in 2014 that deeply impressed him, Xi wrote: "It is with great respect for civilizations and high expectations for a bright future that I will once again visit this beautiful country, something I very much look forward to."

Great civilizations always stand by each other, Xi said, citing the examples of Greek shipowners who broke through an international blockade to send much-needed supplies and equipment to the People's Republic of China after its founding, and China providing assistance to help Greek friends emerge from economic woes a decade ago.

"The growth of China-Greece relations is testimony that ancient civilizations are capable of dynamic, mutually beneficial cooperation in modern times," he wrote, adding that "I hope to work with your leaders to map out a brighter future for our relations" during the visit.

The president called for joint efforts to raise the strategic level of Chinese-Greek relations in all respects by maintaining the strong momentum of engagement, continually enhancing mutual understanding and trust and rendering further support for each other's core interests and major concerns.

He called on the two sides to improve all areas of practical cooperation through concrete efforts, broadening areas of cooperation and scaling up investment ties, with the Port of Piraeus serving as a flagship project.

"China is ready to import more quality agricultural products from Greece to provide our consumers with more choices. We hope Greece will open its market wider to Chinese companies and products," he wrote.

Xi also underlined the need to step up cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative with down-to-earth efforts. Greece was accepted as a member of the China-Central and Eastern European Countries cooperation mechanism in April.

"We need to ... make the most of the location and shipping capacity of Greece, seize the opportunities brought by Greece's joining the China-CEEC cooperation, actively advance practical projects under the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line and contribute to the China-EU Connectivity Platform," Xi wrote. "This will make us front-runners in China-Europe cooperation."

Panos Laskaridis, president of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, which promotes Greek culture, said, "Here in Greece, everybody is very excited about the visit, and we expect a lot of results."

Laskaridis highlighted the state visit to China in May by Pavlopoulos and the visit to China by Mitsotakis last week.

Mitsotakis led a delegation to the second China International Import Expo. Xi met with him, and the two visited the Greek pavilion.

"Of course, now we are delighted that your president is coming to Greece for an official visit," Laskaridis told China Daily. "We think all these visits will give a new and strong impetus to the relations between Greece and China."

Chen Weihua in Brussels contributed to this story.
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记者：莫竞西
播报：James McCarthy

【阅读背景】
习近平抵达雅典　开始对希腊共和国进行国事访问

当地时间11月10日晚，国家主席习近平乘专机抵达雅典国际机场，开始对希腊共和国进行国事访问。

习近平和夫人彭丽媛步出专机舱门，希腊外长登迪亚斯等政府高级官员在舷梯旁热情迎接。礼兵分列红地毯两侧，行注目礼。

近平代表中国政府和中国人民向希腊政府和希腊人民致以诚挚问候和良好祝愿。习近平指出，希腊拥有悠久历史和灿烂文化，为人类文明进步作出了杰出贡献。中希文化交相辉映，友好交往源远流长。作为文明古国，中希双方均支持文明交流对话，推动不同文明和谐共生。近年来，中希关系保持高水平发展，两国高层交往密切，政治互信不断深化，以比雷埃夫斯港项目为标志的中希共建“一带一路”合作成果丰硕，在重大国际和地区问题上保持密切沟通和协调，为世界和平稳定和发展繁荣作出了贡献。

习近平指出，当前，中希都处在各自发展的关键阶段，深化双边关系、扩大务实合作，符合两国和两国人民根本利益。我期待着同帕夫洛普洛斯总统、米佐塔基斯总理等希腊领导人就新形势下中希关系发展深入交换意见，共同规划两国合作未来发展蓝图，一道推动中希全面战略伙伴关系开启新的篇章。

丁薛祥、杨洁篪、王毅、何立峰等陪同人员同机抵达。

中国驻希腊大使章启月也到机场迎接。

在结束对希腊的国事访问后，习近平还将赴巴西出席金砖国家领导人第十一次会晤。