Aerial photo shows the Piraeus port in Greece. Development of Piraeus port, Greece's largest harbor, is still progressing as planned despite the COVID-19 crisis. Photo : IC

A spokesperson of China's Embassy in Greece said on Tuesday the success of China-Greece cooperated Piraeus Port should inject confidence and inspiration among other cooperation partners of China in the region, as some European media outlets speculate over China's influence in local marine transport sector such as in Germany. 

When asked about rumors that "China is the boss" at the Piraeus Port and the comparison with Chinese COSCO Group's investment in German Hamburg port, the spokesperson said the success of China-Greece cooperation at Piraeus Port was clear for all to see.

According to the embassy, the Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) realized revenue of 145.8 million euros ($144.3 million) during the first nine months of 2022, up 28.2 percent year-on-year, and the gross profit for the period reached 83.146 million euros, up 49.1 percent year-on-year. 

"The success of international cooperation was not only the result of professional management ability of the investors, but also contributed by the faith of making progress from the two sides in the cooperation," said the spokesperson. 

In light of the successful Piraeus Port cooperation, other European partners should have more confidence and be encouraged by the partnership, the embassy spokesperson noted.

The spokesperson said that China will stand firmly in pursuing global cooperation projects, and will always conduct foreign investment and cooperation based on mutual benefit.

Approved by Greek government in 2016, China's COSCO Shipping Group completed the acquisition of PPA's 67 percent stake in October 2021 with 368.5 million euros. The Piraeus Port is an important port for cruise liners, auto-carrying vessels and a maintenance center for the Mediterranean and Europe with annual freight process volume of 7.2 million TEUs, Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Since the first-phase acquisition was made in 2016, over 3,000 direct jobs, 10,000 indirect jobs, and 1.4 billion euros of income have been added to the local economy. 

Yu Zenggang, chairman of PPA said the development of Piraeus Port had shown the foresight of COSCO Shipping's development strategy, which has effectively promoted the development of the local economy while improving the business performance and development resilience of the company itself, according to COSCO's official website. 

Global Times