Greece External Relations Briefing: Greece and China During the COVID-19 Pandemic George N
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ISSN: 2560-1601 Vol. 28, No. 4 (GR) April 2020 Greece external relations briefing: Greece and China during the COVID-19 pandemic George N. Tzogopoulos 1052 Budapest Petőfi Sándor utca 11. +36 1 5858 690 Kiadó: Kína-KKE Intézet Nonprofit Kft. [email protected] Szerkesztésért felelős személy: CHen Xin Kiadásért felelős személy: Huang Ping china-cee.eu 2017/01 Greece and China during the COVID-19 pandemic China and Greece have come closer in February, March and April. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, the Greek government immediately expressed its sympathy. And when Greece started to suffer by the virus, China offered medical assistance. In comparison to other Western countries the public discourse in Greece has largely reflected domestic considerations on how the virus could be defeated. Within this context, Sino-Greek cooperation has been illustrated positively whereas criticism on China has rather appeared in the section of international news. Chinese Ambassador to Greece Zhang Qiyue tends to occasionally talk in local media contributing to a better understanding of China in Greece and sharing some practices about the coronavirus on the grounds of Chinese experience. The ongoing pandemic has outlined Sino-Greek bonds. To start with the first phase of the problem after the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, Greece showed its support to China. At the beginning of February 2020, former Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping expressing the sympathy of Greek to Chinese people for the tragic deaths due to the novel coronavirus. Also, in an article published in Fileleftheros Newspaper a few days later, Minister of Development and Investments Adonis Georgiadis underlined that Greece would stand by China. The juncture was important. Mid-February was a period during which social stigma cases in several Western countries were increasing. Subsequently, national Development and Reform Commission Vice Chairman Ning Jizhe sent a letter thanking the Greek Minister for the stance of the Greek government. Furthermore, the Chinese Embassy in Greece started to closely work with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate prevention and control efforts and to provide assistance to Chinese citizens. The Embassy’s wechat public account and website do constantly provide information about the situation, access to local hospitals as well as extension of visas ore residence permits. For its part, Air China decided to cancel its flights to Greece due to public safety concerned and noting the limited interest of citizens to travel. Temporarily, the entry of foreign nationals (including Greek citizens) holding valid Chinese visas or residence permits is suspended. According to the Greek Embassy in Beijing international flights still operating and bound for Beijing were diverted to the following designated first points of entry: 1 Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Hohhot, Shanghai Pudong, Jinan, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shenyang, Dalian, Zhengzhou and Xi’an. When the pandemic arrived to Greece in March, China provided medical aid. On 18 March, Minister of Health Vassilis Kikilias visited the Embassy of China and received 50,000 masks and other hygiene material. The Chinese company COSCO also donated relevant material to the Hellenic Coastguard. More importantly, on 21 November, a Chinese plane with 18 tons of medical supplies arrived in Athens. 8 tons were provided by the Chinese government including 550,000 face and surgical masks, as well as goggles, gloves and shoe covers. The remaining 10 tons were contributions made by Chinese companies and organizations. Kikilias, Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis and Ambassador Zhang Qiyue, went to Athens International Airport on that day. Kikilias thanked the Chinese government and State Grid. For his part, Varvitsiotis considered it important that Greece was enjoying excellent relations with China and could thus benefit by receiving medical assistance in times of need. Ambassador Zhang wrote an op-ed in Kathimerini newspaper titled: ‘The single soul of empathy dwelling in our bodies’ in which she praised Sino-Greek friendship. Additionally, the Onassis Foundation – in cooperation with the Greek Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Health sourced and secured 13.5 million protective masks. On 30 March, one airplane flying from China landed in Athens. Premier Mitsotakis who went to the airport said that the masks and this equipment would be used exclusively to shield those who were finding themselves on the front line facing down this major crisis. The majority of the 27,000 boxes containing 13.5 million surgical masks amount at €7,750,000 were transported to Greece one day later. Aegean Airlines and Hellenic Petroleum offered the free use of aircraft and fuel to bring medical supplies from China. Other cargo flights also contributed to the transportation of boxes with military equipment from the country. As it has been already mentioned, Greek politicians publicly appreciated medical assistance provided by China. Other figures have joined them. An example is that of ship-owner Panos Laskaridis. Laskaridis, also the President of the Aikaterini Laskaridi Foundation that on 11 November 2019 announced the establishment of the Centre for China Studies in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, commended China for its quick response to the epidemic and expressed his hope that mankind would become more resilient due to the pandemic. But National Security Advisor Alexandros Diakopoulos appeared initially more skeptical during a virtual conference that was organized on 23 April. He said that while it was good for Greece to take medical equipment from China, this was not a gift because Greek donors had paid for it. The website armyvoice.gr contacted Diakopoulos and asked for 2 clarifications for this comment. The National Security Advisor explained that he only referred (during the online conference) to the medical equipment that was delivered to Greece on 30 and 31 March. With his clarification he appeased some concerns that he could have contradicted Kikilias and Varvitsiotis for thanking China for its support to Greece. China continued to offer medical assistance to Greece in April. On 23 April Ambassador Zhang Qiyue delivered to Alternate Migration and Asylum Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos 20,000 surgical masks. The masks would be distributed to reception centers for asylum seekers on the Aegean Sea islands. Ambassador Zhang and Minister Koumoutsakos wore both masks and did an elbow bump during the handover. 5,000 masks were immediately sent to Kranidi after 150 people were tested positive in COVID-19 in a refugee facility. Koumoutsakos thanked China for this donation which he placed in the context of excellent bilateral relations between the two countries. Ambassador Zhang spoke about Sino-Greek collaboration on sharing practices from Chinese doctors and healthcare workers in dealing with the disease. In mid- March, for instance, governmental officials and medical experts from China, Greece and other Central and Eastern European countries had participated in a video-conference on Covid-19 prevention and control and had been engaged in an in-depth exchange of views. Ambassador Zhang has been also active in local media by giving interviews and publishing articles. In parallel with her commentary for Kathimerini newspaper, she appeared on SKAI TV on 1 April and positively commented and measures taken by the Greek government in containing the virus. As she said, social distancing measures and isolation were the best practices in dealing with the problem. One week later she was interviewed by Mega TV hailing Sino-Greek cooperation during the pandemic and underlining three main points during the fight: the early detection, the effectiveness of measures and the mobilization of politicians, medical teams, other experts and the citizens. And on 17 April she wrote a piece for TA NEA weekend edition discussing the experience accumulated by the Chinese government for prevention and control of the disease in the world. Although the fight against COVID-19 is ongoing, China and Greece can look towards the future with reserved optimism. The Piraeus port, for example, has maintained its competiveness because COSCO had kept all terminals operational. While tourism will certainly suffer a serious blow due to pandemic, the momentum created after the visit of President Xi Jinping to Athens in November 2019 will hardly be reversed. Ambassador of Greece to Beijing George Iliopoulos has also praised Sino-Greek collaboration efforts – including on the repatriation of citizens – and anticipates new win-win synergies. In contrast to other Western countries the image of China in Greece remains positive. Greek journalists have avoided social stigma and name- 3 calling, even if criticism on the country in the section of international news has increased following the outbreak of the problem in Wuhan. Conclusion Relations between China and Greece have been strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although business activities and tourism are affected by the ongoing situation, coordination efforts to respond to the problem have been boosted. China has already provided Greece with medical aid and is prepared to continue with this assistance if required. Greece also values Chinese practices in its management of the coronavirus. The current period – until a safe return to normality is achieved – constitutes a good opportunity for the two countries to ponder on new, original steps of their collaboration including on the digital economy, smart education and joint research. 4 .