Prime Minister George Papandreou,

Speaker Philippos Petsalnikos of the Hellenic Parliament,

Parliamentarians,

Ministers,

Diplomatic Envoys,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before my speech, allow me to say a few words from the bottom of my heart. This morning, accompanied by Prime Minister 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 that the Greek people will overcome the current difficulties with perseverance and determination. The final victory belongs 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 high tribute to all the friends who have contributed to China-Greece friendship over the years.

Although this is my first time to 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 thoughts 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 a 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. History has no lack of coincidence. 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 that 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, thus 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 till this day. From these examples, we can see that like two shining pearls in the East and the West, both the Chinese civilization and the Greek civilization 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 a 5,000-year uninterrupted 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 did not stop 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 that Greece is coming out of the shadow of sovereign debt crisis. Your financial market is stabilizing, fiscal deficit is fast coming down, investors' confidence is returning, and the prospect of recovery is encouraging. I am convinced that given your outstanding national spirit, your will find 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 by which the Greeks called China: Seres, the country of silk. The Olympic Games that 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 equipments, 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. Shiing-Shen Chern, a contemporary 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 intensifying cooperation with you, we can be of some help in your endeavor 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 bigger, 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 to conduct 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-sized Greek ship-owners. And we support the establishment of a research center on emissions reduction and energy conservation of ships. These measures will give a boost to our cooperation on navigation safety and exhaust emissions reduction of ships.

Third, promote 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 of our two countries have rich tourism resources, and there is huge potential for our 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.