Chinese Ambassador to Greece Zou Xiaoli (C) and President of TIF-HELEXPO (National Institution for the Organisation of Exhibitions, Congresses and Cultural Events) Anastasios Tzikas (R) attend a ceremony in Thessaloniki, Greece, on Feb. 11. 2017. Chinese and Greek officials hailed on Saturday China's expected contribution to local and regional economy as China officially assumed the honored country role of the 2017 Thessaloniki International Fair. (Xinhua/Liu Yongqiu)
by Liu Yongqiu, Chen Zhanjie
THESSALONIKI, Greece, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Greek officials hailed on Saturday China's expected contribution to local and regional economy as China officially assumed the honored country role of the 2017 Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF).
In a ceremony held at the square in front of TIF-HELEXPO (National Institution for the Organisation of Exhibitions, Congresses and Cultural Events), Chinese Ambassador to Greece Zou Xiaoli noted that in 1998, China attended TIF as the first honored country in the exhibition's history.
As the second largest economy in the world, China demonstrates its great attention to and great expectations of TIF and China-Greece cooperation by being the honored country once again, said Zou.
"China stands ready to keep close communication with Greece and work together with other participating countries to make the 82nd TIF a grand gathering of economic and cultural exchanges between China and Greece, Southeast Europe, the Balkans, West Asia and North Africa, and write a splendid chapter in the process of jointly building the New Silk Road in the 21st Century," said Zou.
On his part, Anastasios Tzikas, president of TIF-HELEXPO which has been organizing the annual event since 1926, said China and Greece, the two ancient civilizations which have great connections and have contributed a lot to global civilization, should strengthen their economic ties to bring their collaboration to the future.
Tzikas said TIF-HELEXPO is planning the whole year's business and cultural events with partners in Greece and China, focusing on energy, telecommunication, technology, logistics and other strategic sectors that the two countries have common interests.
"As the historical center in the region, Thessaloniki and Greece in general can be a strategic bridge between China, Europe, West Asia and North Africa," said Tzikas in the ceremony attended by hundreds of guests from the Greek government, business community, as well as overseas Chinese.
TIF is Greece's largest annual trade fair and has great importance in southeastern Europe. It has been customary for Greece's prime minister to set out his government's policies for each coming year in a speech at the annual TIF, giving political significance in addition to its commercial importance.
