Reception in her honor National Day of China and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China as well as Greece quotes Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China Xiao Juncheng last night. The first day of October is a national holiday in China, as it commemorates the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949. Moreover, China and Greece officially established diplomatic relations 50 years ago, in 1972.

During his address to the guests on Thursday evening, the head of the Chinese diplomatic delegation characteristically said, “There is a saying in China that says, ‘When everyone gathers firewood together, the flame will be high.’ And in Greece there is a proverb “hold me, and I will hold you, let’s climb the mountain.” The fact that Sino-Greek relations can demonstrate today’s achievements and that our friendship is passed down from generation to generation is the merit of every friend who is interested in and supports Sino-Greek relations.” In fact, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, “Outstanding Contribution Awards” were also presented to individuals outstanding in building Greek-Chinese friendship.

“Let’s start together on the path to the next brilliant 50 years of all-round strategic cooperation between China and Greece,” said Ambassador Xiao Juncheng.

In his speech, the ambassador also stressed that “today, both China and Greece have entered a critical stage of national development and national revival. Greece has fully launched the Greece 2.0 plan to promote economic recovery and transformation and has made significant progress. It has fully recovered from the effects of the European debt crisis and is accelerating to leave the shadow of the pandemic behind. Accordingly, on October 16, China will host the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which will outline a two-stage strategy for the implementation of the second centenary goal and outline a new development plan for China.”

Finally, the ambassador urged both sides to take “the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to strengthen our traditional friendship, expand practical cooperation, deepen interpersonal and cultural exchanges, and together set out on the path to the next brilliant 50 years of all-round strategic cooperation between China and Greece.”