ATHENS, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- At least 200 Chinese companies will participate in the 82nd Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) to be held on September 9-17, with the participation of China as an honored country. TIF is Greece's largest trade fair and one of the biggest in Europe.
Therefore, a series of meetings between Greek and Chinese companies have been planned in an effort to attract investments, strengthen economic ties and enhance cooperation between the two countries.
One of the leading events of the 82nd TIF is the memorandum of understanding (MoU) to be signed between China Development Bank (CDB) and Public Power Corporation (PPC) during a conference organized within the framework of the fair.
Environment and Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis, Chinese Ambassador Zou Xiaoli, the Head of the European Commission Representation in Greece Panos Karvounis, as well as representatives of companies and banks from China and SE Europe will speak at the conference.
On its part, China Development Bank is planning investments involving more than 900 projects in the 64 countries along the route of Silk Road.
The participation of Cosco, which is planning to invest around 600 million euros in the port of Piraeus over the next decade, is also expected to attract the interest of visitors. Its decision to choose Piraeus as a gateway for Chinese products to enter the EU market is an important initiative for both the Greek economy and for relations between China and the EU.
Other companies that have registered with the platform "thessalonikifair-2017.b2match.io" in order to hold meetings within the framework of the fair are CEFC China Energy Company Limited, China Corporate United Investment Holding, ΙNESA, Shanghai Feilo Acoustics, Shanghai Electric Group Shanghai Building Materials, Ezi Surg Medical, Shenda International Trade, Shanghai Silk Group Culture Development and Shanghai Rainbowfish Ocean Technology.
The platform was an initiative of TIF and Enterprise Greek Invest and Trade in order to identify companies that share common features and facilitate them in their efforts to plan their meetings.
Chinese companies are mostly interested in the sectors of energy, food, tourism, scientific innovation, culture, real estate and health care.
Another important development to be announced is the launch by Air China of new direct flights linking Athens and Beijing, as of September 30.
In total, more than 1,500 exhibitors are expected to participate in the conference, the managing director of TIF-Helexpo Kyriakos Pozrikidis said to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency. (Edited by Zhang Yuan, source: Athens News Agency)
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