From September 1^st to 3^rd, 2019, at the invitation of Panos LASKARIDIS, Honorary Commander-in-Chief of the Greek Fleet, Former Admiral of Greece, and President of Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, Baige ZHAO, Chair of Advisory Committee of RDI, and Ping HUANG, Director of the Institute of European Studies of CASS, visited Greece.

Visit to the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation

On the afternoon of September 2^nd, at the Port of Piraeus in Athens, Konstantinos Mazarakis-AINIAN, Executive President of Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, held a discussion and exchanged views with Baige ZHAO and the delegation. MAZARAKIS said that in addition to the cooperation with domestic universities in Greece, the Foundation signed a cooperation agreement with City University of London in 2009 and hosted maritime law lectures in Piraeus every year, which has continued for 10 years. Besides, the Foundation has also cooperated with Tsinghua University in China and the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands on classical and modern Greek cultural research projects, and has regularly selected and organized scholars and professors from all over the world to conduct exchanges on academic research.

Visit to the Navigation Museum of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation

Baige ZHAO said that RDI and China Cultural Heritage Foundation are close strategic partners to jointly carry out international cooperation, further explore B&R countries through cultural exchanges, and launch B&R related cultural conservation projects. Take the planning of the digital museum as an example, the project introduces the international cultural heritage digitally while exporting cultural creativity overseas and jointly set up joint funds with relevant countries. She said, Through this research, we learned that the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation also actively supports various activities related to the protection of Greek maritime history and heritage, such as the renovation of stone lighthouses and the archaeological salvage of shipwrecks in Antikythera. The foundation owns a large collection of marine cultural relics, becoming the place with the largest quantity of cultural relics related to Lord Nelson in the world after Britain. RDI is willing to make positive contributions to the protection of maritime culture with the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation.

Baige ZHAO with Qiyue ZHANG, Ambassador to Greece, and Greek Government officials

During their visit to Greece, the RDI delegation met with Qiyue ZHANG, Ambassador of China to Greece, Wendi CHEN, Director of the Politics & Information Division, Grecia KATROUGALOS, Former Foreign Minister of Greece, Spyridon FLOGAITIS, Director of European Public Law Organization (EPLO), Nikos FRANGOS, Secretary-General of Greek Ministry of Government Finance and Labor (with SYRIZA as the leading party of Greece) and Professor of Athens University of Economics and Business, and they fully exchanged views on building B&R. Ambassador Qiyue ZHANG said that Greece has become a new member of China-CEEC cooperation in April 2019. As an important node country along the B&R, Greece has more to offer in the construction of regional transportation, energy and service hubs under the framework of the BRI, and has obvious advantages in implementing and promoting the BRI and the "17+1 Cooperation" framework. The pragmatic cooperation between China and Greece is characteristic of "increasingly perfect structure, prominent highlights and expanded radiation". In addition, the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has continuously made new progress. From January to August in 2019, the bilateral trade increased by 22.7% year on year, while China's imports from Greece increased by 33.4%. The high-quality agricultural products of Greece, such as olive oil, wine and crocuses, are gaining more popularity among Chinese enterprises and consumers. In addition to economic and trade cooperation, China and Greece will conduct in-depth cooperation in more fields in the future.

Baige ZHAO with Ambassador Qiyue ZHANG at Chinese Embassy in Greece

Baige ZHAO believes that the China-Greece cooperation has opened a new chapter against the current background. RDI gives full play to its advantages as a high-end think tank platform, continuously strengthening internal construction and external exchanges, and enhancing mutual trust and win-win cooperation between China and other countries in the world through active promotion of high-level government dialogues at home and abroad. RDI has also conducted in-depth research on domestic policies and measures, as well as industrial development and other aspects to form high-quality reports. It has submitted the reports to the central and local authorities in charge of decision-making. The advice and suggestions in the reports have been incorporated into policies and measures by relevant ministries and local government.

In November 2019, during his visit to Greece, President Xi emphasized that "We need to step up Belt and Road cooperation with down-to-earth efforts, 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. This will make us front-runners in China-Europe cooperation."

Greece, like China, is a nation with a long history and shares a lot of similar philosophy with China. The Greek Government and people highly agree with President Xi 's ideal of "a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind." With Greece joining China-CEEC cooperation as a full member state, "16+1 Cooperation" is upgraded to "17+1 Cooperation", and content of the mechanism is continuously enriched and expanded.