Speech by Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, to the Hellenic Parliament

Before my speech, please allow me to say a few words from the bottom of my heart. This morning, accompanied by Prime Minister George Papandreou, I visited the Acropolis of Athens. Looking at this ancient city, I saw a Greece of sunshine, great civilization, joy and harmony. Greece prides itself on vast oceans and high mountains. It is like a sea that embraces the whole world. It is like a mountain that stands tall and upright and defies all kinds of difficulties. I believe the Greek people will overcome their current difficulties with perseverance and determination. The final victory will belong to the people of Greece.

Greece is indeed an enchanting place, and it is my long-cherished wish to visit this ancient and beautiful land. Today, I am delighted to come to the Hellenic Parliament and meet with so many parliamentarians and friends from various sectors. Let me first of all extend to you and through you, to the people of Greece, my cordial greetings and best wishes. I would also like to take this opportunity to express heartfelt thanks and pay a high tribute to all the friends who have contributed to the China-Greece friendship over the years.

Although this is the first time I have set foot on your soil, Greece is not unfamiliar to me. I read stories about ancient Greece when I was a boy. And since then, I have developed an intense interest in your time-honored civilization and have always been fascinated by its antiquity and brilliance. The Greek civilization has left invaluable assets to humanity: the magnificent Palace of Knossos, the spectacular ruins of Mycenae and the imposing Acropolis of Athens, to name but a few. The profound thought of Greek philosophers, the great epics of Homer and the enduring charm of Greek mythology have given wisdom and inspiration to mankind. And the shining names of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Archimedes have left a permanent mark in the annals of human civilization. Indeed, anyone familiar with the origin of world civilization cannot but admire the splendid culture created by the Greek people. For me, the ancient Greek virtue of revering wisdom, reason and science has long been personal conviction. Among the books that I travel with are works of ancient Greece. And Aristotle's famous line, "Plato is dear to me, but dearer still is truth", has given me constant inspiration.

Like Greece, my country China is also an ancient civilization with a rich historical and cultural heritage. Being a Chinese, I feel very proud. There is no lack of coincidence in history. When Greek civilization was at its height, it was the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period (770-221 B.C.) in China, "a time which called for giants and produced giants". The unique historical setting in China during this period made it possible for a hundred schools of thought to flourish, including, inter alia, Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism and Legalism, heralding an era of intellectual prosperity in Chinese history. The legacy from this period, especially Confucianism, set the stage for the development of the Chinese civilization and has profoundly shaped the intellectual world of the Chinese people until this day. From these examples, we can see that — like two shining pearls in the East and the West — the Chinese and the Greek civilizations have made major contributions to the progress of world civilization.

As I stood before the majestic Parthenon, many thoughts crossed my mind. How hard it must have been for the Greek people to build this impressive structure, given the conditions 2,400 years ago. A nation that produced such incredible culture must be full of wisdom and enterprise. The Greek people encountered many vicissitudes in their long history, and won numerous glories through strenuous efforts. I believe that a nation like yours is invincible. Similarly, the Chinese nation has experienced many trials and tribulations, but has never been deterred or defeated. Through hard struggle, the Chinese have emerged from these trials and tribulations stronger and, with an uninterrupted 5,000-year civilization, stood firm in the world's East. Socrates once said that adversity is the best school to temper one's willpower. There is a similar saying in China: Out of hardship grows success. Both point to one fact: hardships and calamities have not stopped the Chinese and Greek people from moving forward. They have only made us more resilient and indomitable.

In the once-in-a-century financial crisis that has battered the world economy in the last two years, both China and Greece have stood the test. We are pleased to note Greece is coming out of the shadow of sovereign debt crisis. Your financial market is stabilizing, the fiscal deficit is fast coming down, investors' confidence is returning, and the prospect of recovery is encouraging. I am convinced, given your outstanding national spirit, you will take strength and wisdom from your rich cultural heritage and make determined efforts to overcome the temporary difficulties and achieve new progress and development. We have every confidence in the future of Greece.

The friendly interactions between China and Greece date back to time immemorial. Chinese silk was introduced to Greece as early as the fourth century B.C., hence the lovely name which the Greeks called China: Seres, the country of silk. The Olympic Games which originated in ancient Greece are well known in China and the colorful Greek mythology enjoys immense popularity. In the early years of the People's Republic of China, Greek ship-owners were the first to break the embargo and sent us badly needed goods and equipment, providing invaluable support to the development of New China. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1972, the Greek Government and people have been steadfast in their support to China on issues concerning China's major interests. What is more, you made important contributions to the success of the Beijing Olympic Games. The Chinese people will never forget what you have done for us. Speaking of the friendship between the Chinese and Greek people, I was reminded of Mr. Chen Xingshen, a Chinese mathematician in differential geometry and member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In his last moments, he wrote down, hand shaking, the Chinese characters for Greece. He said to his family, "I am going back to Greece, the birthplace of mathematics". This has always been a moving story to me.

China sees itself as a friend of Greece and the Chinese government is firm in supporting Greece. We hope that by strengthening cooperation with you, we can be of help in your endeavors to tide over difficulties at an early date. We applaud the efforts made by the Greek Government to tackle the international financial crisis and the debt crisis. And we support the measures taken by the EU and the IMF in this regard. Since the beginning of this year, our two countries have signed 20 cooperation agreements and business contracts. Greek exports to China in the first half of this year doubled those of the corresponding period of last year. Looking ahead, I believe that we should further our cooperation in the following areas.

First, broaden bilateral trade. We should actively explore new areas of trade and strive to double our trade volume to $8 billion in five years. China would like to buy more of your olive oil, wine and other products popular among Chinese consumers. This will make our bilateral trade not only larger, but also more balanced.

Second, deepen maritime cooperation. We will work with Greece to manage well the Piraeus container terminal and increase its capacity to 3.7 million TEUs by 2015. The Chinese Government encourages Chinese enterprises in cooperation in logistics with Greece on the basis of the successful experience in port cooperation. We encourage Chinese financial institutions to provide financing services for the building and repair of ships in China for small and medium Greek ship-owners. And we support the establishment of a research center on emissions reductions and energy conservation of ships. These measures will boost our cooperation on navigation safety and exhaust emissions reductions of ships.

Third, promoting investment cooperation. Our two countries should push forward trade and investment facilitation and create better conditions for cooperation between our enterprises. China encourages capable enterprises to set up businesses in Greece and would like to send a trade and investment promotion mission to Greece at the earliest possible date to seek cooperation projects in infrastructure, new energy sources and other fields.

Last but not least, expand tourism cooperation. Both our countries have rich tourism resources, and there is huge potential for cooperation in this area. We welcome greater tourism promotion efforts by Greece in China and hope to explore with you measures for facilitating tourism cooperation.

The ever-deepening, friendly cooperation between China and Greece epitomizes the overall relationship between China and the EU, which has also made steady progress. Relations between China and Europe have traveled a long and sometimes bumpy road. The establishment of diplomatic ties in 1975 opened a new page in China-EU relations and put them on the track of mature, healthy and steady development.

Politically, China-EU relations have made three big leaps forward: from constructive partnership to comprehensive partnership and then to comprehensive strategic partnership. Economically, the EU has become China's largest supplier of technology and fourth largest overseas investor. It has been China's largest trading partner for six consecutive years, while China has risen to be the EU's second largest trading partner. On the cultural front, our interactions are growing more and more frequent. China has signed cultural exchange agreements with many EU countries and the impact of cultural exchanges, both bilateral and multilateral, is being felt far and wide. Nearly 200,000 Chinese students are now studying in Europe and each year over 1 million Chinese tourists come to visit Europe. I would like to make a special mention of the EU Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, for this is the first time the EU participated in a World Expo held outside Europe. In sum, China-EU relations have reached unprecedented breadth and depth and the two sides have become indispensable partners in each other's developmental endeavors.

The reason China-EU relations have kept moving forward despite various interference is a sound China-EU relationship meets the aspirations of the Chinese and European people and serves our common interests. As China and Europe are at different stages of development, there is a lot we can offer each other economically. We have no clash of fundamental interests. We both believe in multilateralism, stand for diversity of civilizations, and take an active part in building the international system. The steady progress in China-EU relations has brought real benefits to both sides. Europe's capital, commodities, technology and patents have found a vast market in China and thousands of European companies have reaped handsome benefits. European consumers not only now have a wider choice but also save a lot of money on China's high-quality yet inexpensive products. At the height of the financial crisis, EU exports to China kept increasing despite the decline in its total exports. In the first half of this year, EU exports to China surged by 42 percent. Our trade for the whole year may reach $500 billion. Increases in EU exports to China have brought new job opportunities for Europe. For China, Europe's advanced technology and managerial expertise have played an important part in its industrial upgrading efforts and European products are popular among Chinese consumers. It is true there is competition between China and Europe, but there is far more cooperation than competition. This has been borne out by a number of facts. We are good friends who respect each other and treat each other as equals, and we are good partners who benefit from each other's strengths and cooperate for win-win progress.

China-EU relations are now at a new historical starting point with broad space for further growth. It should be our shared objective to push forward the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership and step up cooperation in every dimension. China stands ready to enhance strategic dialogue with the EU to deepen mutual understanding and trust, dispel misgivings and accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns. China is committed to a win-win strategy of opening up, and will further improve its investment environment, better protect intellectual property, expand trade and investment with Europe and raise the level of our technological cooperation.

We hope that the EU for its part will recognize China's full market economy status as soon as possible, ease restrictions on hi-tech exports to China and reject trade protectionism so as to foster an environment conducive to the healthy growth of our trade. China will embrace an even more open approach to deepen cultural exchanges and cooperation with the EU that will further strengthen the popular support for our relations. We will step up communication and coordination with the EU in the G20 and other major multilateral mechanisms and jointly respond to global challenges such as the international financial crisis, climate change, energy security and non-traditional security threats.

China is sincere in enhancing cooperation with Europe and confident about the prospects of our cooperation. Since the outbreak of the international financial crisis, Chinese leaders have visited Europe several times and held frequent meetings with EU leaders. We want to show with these concrete actions the Chinese Government attaches great importance to our relations with Europe and wants to join with you in concerted efforts to tide over difficulties. After the sovereign debt crisis occurred in some European countries earlier this year, I told leaders of European countries on many occasions China supports the measures taken by the EU and the IMF. I stated in clear-cut terms that China will not reduce its euro bond holdings and that China supports a stable euro. We sent trade and investment promotion missions to Europe and signed a series of important trade and investment contracts. All these are specific examples of China's efforts to help Europe overcome difficulties and achieve recovery. I am pleased to note, thanks to joint efforts, China-EU trade already exceeds pre-crisis levels. It is our firm belief a united, prosperous and strong Europe has an irreplaceable role to play in promoting world stability and development.

China is committed to advancing China-EU relations. This is not expediency, but a long-term strategic policy. China, an ancient country of the East, has experienced profound changes since 1978. This is mainly because we have embarked on the path of reform and opening up with strong determination and courage. We have studied and absorbed the achievements of other cultures with an open and inclusive mind, and carried out extensive and mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries.

Europe is home to the largest number of developed countries. We have a lot to learn from you and there are many areas where we can cooperate. Although China's total GDP and external trade are among the largest in the world, the basic reality of China—a populous country with a weak economic foundation and uneven development—has not changed. Our per-capita GDP is only one eighth Greece's, people living in poverty in our country are more than three times the population of Greece, and our vast countryside and interior are still underdeveloped. China remains a developing country. For us, to bring a fundamental change to the state of underdevelopment is a long and uphill journey. Our development requires a peaceful and stable external environment and closer cooperation with other countries, European countries included. We will stay on the path of peaceful development. We will endeavor to foster a peaceful international environment for our own development, and at the same time contribute to world peace through our development. This is in keeping with the fundamental interests of the Chinese people and will bring benefits to the whole world.

Greece has an important place in Europe. A European thinker once said that without the basis laid by Grecian culture and the Roman Empire, there could be no modern Europe. We sincerely hope that Greece will play an even more active role in building China-EU ties.

The world economic recovery is a tortuous process. To emerge fully from the financial crisis, we need to make joint efforts. As the Greek saying goes, skill and confidence make an army unconquerable. It is by conquering all kinds of crises and challenges that human society and civilization have made continuous headway. The rich heritage of the Chinese and Greek cultures have made our two peoples intelligent and courageous. They are the sources of our confidence and strength. I am convinced that as long as we inherit and carry forward the fine cultural tradition of our forebears, fully rely on and tap into the wisdom and talent of our people, and tackle difficulties together with greater confidence, we will bring about an even better future.