Expo

China honored Greece at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) 2019.

Greece set up a country pavilion in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in January, which was the first of its kind after the first CIIE.

The pavilion serves as the platform to promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. At this year's event, the Greek pavilion focuses on cultural heritage, hospitality and gastronomy.

Belt and Road project

Greece was one of the first European Union countries to sign Belt and Road documents with China, and the Mediterranean nation has worked together with China to build the Port of Piraeus into a flagship Belt and Road project.

Piraeus Port is the largest port in Greece. On Aug 10, 2016, COSCO Shipping (Hong Kong) Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China COSCO Shipping Group, became a controlling shareholder of the port and started operating the facility.

Since COSCO Shipping's participation into the privatization of the port in 2009, the group contributes 300 million euros ($336.9 million) to the local economy on an annual basis, and has created more than 3,100 job opportunities along with more than 10,000 new posts brought about indirectly.

Collaboration between museums

China's Palace Museum exhibition opened to the public at Acropolis Museum in Athens from Sept 14, 2018 and lasted to Feb 14, 2019. Emperors' formal dress, seats, antique screens, and calligraphy works were exhibited at the museum.

Also on Sept 14, the Antikythera Shipwreck exhibition opened at the Palace Museum in Beijing. The exhibits include ancient relics recovered from a ship that sank in the Aegean Sea more than two millennia ago.

Greece's National Museum of Contemporary Art, or EMST, in Athens has also been building new bridges of intercultural dialogue with China as part of a wider Sino-Greek effort to bring the two countries and their people closer.

Tourism

The direct flight between Beijing and Athens was launched on Sept 30, 2017, by Air China. Furthermore, Juneyao Airlines will also open a direct air route between Shanghai and Athens in June 2020.

The number of Chinese visitors travelling to Greece in 2019 is projected to be double that of 2018, surpassing 180,000, and is expected to reach 400,000 or even 500,000 in 2020.

Culture

The character image of China's blockbuster hot animation film Ne Zha and Chinese Xiaolin Comics went on display in Athens on Oct 31, 2019, as part of the largest-ever Chinese cartoon exhibition in the country.

More than 100 representative works of Chinese modern comics, which have been called "The hope of Chinese national comics" by Chinese internet users now can be enjoyed by local Greeks until the middle of November.

Furthermore, a series of events named "From ink: A trip of Chinese animation in Greece" was launched in Athens on Oct 31. The series includes exhibitions, workshops, and other cultural exchange activities.

Theater

China and Greece co-produced bilingual play Agamemnon, a masterpiece of ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus, premiered on Feb 20, 2019, at the National Theater of China.

The play, co-produced by the national theaters of China and Greece, features both Chinese and Greek actors and actresses, languages, and cultural and musical elements.

Music

"2018 Meet Greece Music Journey" started its fourth-year project since Sept 26, 2018, as the annual project of Meet Culture, a leading culture organization which has been focusing on the culture exchange between Greece and China.

Two of the world's most ancient and revered countries and cultures – Greece and China – are finding new ties beyond business as the relations warm, especially through music and travel.

The "Meet Greece Music Journey" is aimed at deepening the mutual understanding between Greece and China through the means of travel, art and music.

Olympics

Greece, home of the Olympic Games, offers exclusive content to Beijing as host of the 2022 Winter Olympics. The project explores topics, such as the legacy and architecture of the ancient site of Olympia, as well as the history of the Games and the Olympic Ideals.

The project includes productions covering a documentary, interactive film, animated game and immersive exhibition for broadcasting in the Chinese media, on platforms and on site at the venue of the Games.

The technological expertise of both Greece and China is an invaluable asset in the execution of this project.