On the afternoon of September 18, Tang Bingquan, Executive Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, met with Greece's first consul general to Guangzhou, Mr. Emmanouil Apostolakis, in the VIP Room on the provincial government compound.

Mr. Tang extended a warm welcome to Mr. Apostolakis on behalf of the provincial government and briefed him on Guangdong's socio-economic development in recent years. He stated that Chinese and Greek peoples enjoy a long-standing friendship and both nations have a long history and brilliant culture. He added that Guangdong attaches great importance to the cooperation with Greece and has achieved significant results in cooperating with Greece in trade, tourism, culture and maritime transportation. Last year, imports and exports between Guangdong and Greece reached USD 457 million, surging 18% over year-on-year, and in the first half of this year, trade between Guangdong and Greece jumped 30.72%

Mr. Apostolakis, a first-time visitor to Guangzhou, reveals that Greece is about to open a consulate general in Guangzhou, and that he will strive to promote cooperation and exchanges between Guangdong and Greece in his new capacity as consul general.

(Translated by Guangzhou Association of Foreign Affairs Translators)