Greece has no plans to end economic ties with China, Athens' permanent representative to NATO told CNBC on Monday.
The global Belt and Road infrastructure plan is designed to create a vast global network of land, sea and digital connections linking China with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Critics say the unprecedented scheme will favor Chinese firms, boost Beijing's international influence and force developing nations to take on high debt burdens.
This has been the case with Piraeus Port, where China's shipping firm Cosco took a majority stake in 2016. The port is at a strategic location between the Asian and European continents. But China has made a number of different major investments in Greece, including in energy and real estate. "If we analyse that there is a threat out of that relationship, we will reconsider. But at this point all that we are getting out of this is the benefits of a healthy and very legitimate commercial relationship," Lambridis added.
His comments contrast with those from some other European nations. Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said his country would assess its participation in the Belt and Road initiative "carefully." Italy became the first G-7 economy to sign a memorandum of understanding with Beijing in 2019 to take part in the project. However, the U.S. and other EU nations raised
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