A sharp public response from the Chinese Embassy in Athens has underscored intensifying strategic competition between Washington and Beijing over major Greek infrastructure, with the port of Piraeus at the center of the dispute. The reaction followed comments by US Ambassador Kimberly Gilfoyle, who urged that the port be sold to reduce Chinese influence in the region.

Both Gilfoyle’s remarks, made in a November 13 television interview, and Tuesday’s statement from the Chinese Embassy reflect the broader US-China rivalry playing out in countries caught between the two powers. Athens has sought to maintain distance, emphasizing both the strategic nature of Greek-American relations and its commitment to existing agreements, including the 2008 concession of the Piraeus Port Authority, expanded in 2016.

In her interview, Gilfoyle said it was important that many people want American infrastructure to come to Greece to support the region, to improve, perhaps, performance from other ports and areas to offset Chinese influence at Piraeus port. She added that at the time of the sale “there were no other bidders” and called the situation “unfortunate,” though she believes “ways could be found to bypass it, to find a solution.”

The Chinese Embassy sharply criticized the remarks, calling them “wrong statements” and accusing Gilfoyle of launching “groundless attacks against the investment and operation of the port of Piraeus by Chinese companies.” It decried “malicious slander of normal Sino-Greek commercial cooperation and a serious interference in Greece’s internal affairs” as well as a “Cold War mentality and hegemonic logic.”

China noted that during Greece’s debt crisis, it “extended a helping hand,” allowing Piraeus to become one of the leading ports in Europe and the Mediterranean, creating thousands of jobs. The port, the embassy said, “belongs forever to the Greek people” and “should not become a victim of geopolitical confrontation.”

Athens issued no new reaction, referring reporters to a November 18 Foreign Ministry statement affirming that Greece “respects the agreements concluded in the past.” 

Source: Ekathimerini.com