Handelsblatt: Greece changes course in its relations with China

After the pandemic and with the war raging in Ukraine, the EU has redefined its policy towards China. According to a German financial review, Greece seems to be doing the same gradually.

As Handelsblatt notes, Greece has been in close economic cooperation with Beijing for over a decade.

“The Chinese emerged as saviours during the Greek public debt crisis,” writes the article republished by Deutsche Well. “Chinese companies invested billions of euros in bankruptcy-prone Greece when most investors avoided it.”

But now, the euphoria toward China is a thing of the past and one reason, according to the outlet, is that thousands of Chinese property buyers have driven property prices sky-high—whole blocks of flats are in Chinese hands in Athens.

Second, China has flooded the Greek market with cheap products.

And to all this comes the recent “Paper Dragon” tax evasion scandal, a network involving 287 Chinese commercial enterprises that hid 90% of their income.

As Handelsblatt explains, “There are no concrete figures on Chinese investments in Greece because a lot of Chinese money comes to the country through… for example, Hong Kong or Singapore.

“Estimates, however, speak of total investments ranging close to 10 billion euros. At the same time, Greek money is moving towards China. Greek shipowners, for example, who control the largest merchant fleet in the world, are among the best customers of Chinese shipyards.”

However, today, now that it has come out of the crisis, “Greece can find investors from Western countries more easily,” while the change in the attitude of the EU and the USA towards Beijing “is something that Mitsotakis must also take into account.”

“During his visit to Beijing in 2023, the Greek Prime Minister emphasised the importance of his country’s relations with China, stating that Greece could become a ‘bridge between the EU and China’.”

According to diplomatic circles, however, in his conversation with the Chinese head of state, Mitsotakis also underlined that Europe needs strategic autonomy to face international geopolitical challenges.

Source: GCT–Paul Antonopoulos