Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-02-24

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Greece, China to systematise bilateral contacts, ministers decide in Athens talks

[01] Greece, China to systematise bilateral contacts, ministers decide in Athens talks

Gao pledged to help towards facilitation of the procedures for the import of Greek fresh produce (kiwis and apples) to China, which currently requires time-consuming paperwork, and called on Greece to back China's application for being granted "Market Economy Status" by the European Union.

Stylianidis replied that Greece supports China's petition, adding that this would facilitate Chinese exports, some of which (i.e. shoes) were currently at risk of facing EU anti-dumping measures.

The EU is currently investigating whether a surge in imports of Chinese and Vietnamese shoes was due to dumping -- selling a product for export at below its normal value so as to grab a market share by unfairly undercutting competitors or because of illegal state aid, and anti-dumping measures could include the imposition of customs duties -- anticipated at around 20 percent on the import price of the merchandise.

Stylianidis further proposed, in the transition period, the creation of joint ventures with Greek and Chinese capital for completion of the manufacture of Chinese products, in Greece. Such a process, combined with a hook-up of Greek and Chinese ports and the cooperation between the two countries' standardisation bodies "will aid Chinese exports and also protect your competitiveness", the Greek minister said, addressing Gao, adding that Greece, too, would benefit from the added value.

The two sides agreed to proceed in collaborations for materialisation of the protocol on cooperation in SMEs signed by prime minister Costas Karamanlis during his recent visit to China.

They further agreed that the general directors of their respective ministries should meet twice yearly to prepare the groundwork and advance the topics ahead of the Mixed Inter-ministerial Committee meetings, and set the first meeting for October this year.

Stylianidis expressed satisfaction with the progress in bilateral relations following Karamanlis' trip to China, adding that the guarantee for achieving the targets was "the deep roots of our civilisations, mutual regard and mutual respect".

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