Trade with Greece
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investors from the Arab world, which view Greece
as a gateway to the markets of the Balkans and
the rest of Europe. However, attracting some-
body’s interest is not enough. You must keep on
rekindling this interest in order to make invest-
ment plans a growth-inducing reality. And this
requires hard, systematic and responsible work,
especially from the government and the co-
responsible Ministries. After all, we should never
forget that although the Arabs are obviously fond
of Greece, this is not enough. We must also offer
comparative advantages for investment, espe-
cially during crises such as this. And it is, of
course, self evident that when investors, local and
foreign, feel like being treated by the public sector
as enemies ―or even as opportunities for making
a tax-free buck― the inevitable result will be non-
investment.
Constantine
N. Yannidis,
President of the
Hellenic-Chinese
Chamber
The Chinese feel that
there is a kind of “com-
munication
goodwill”
inherent in Greece,
which must intensify its
efforts to avoid the impairment ―due to the cri-
sis― of this mutually beneficial goodwill that has
been accumulated all these years of cooperation
between the two countries. Moreover, Greece
must deal with the challenges it faces, making the
most of the opportunities presented to its tourist
product. There is ample room for boosting tourist
flows from China to Greece: the history, culture,
natural environment, high-quality infrastructures
of modern Greece are elements of interest for
Chinese visitors, which can be efficiently utilized.
There is also ample room in regard to the further
improvement of Greek-Chinese industrial partner-
ships.
The Hellenic-Chinese Chamber, as well as each
one of us, is playing a major role in the growth
dynamics of Greek-Chinese financial and busi-
ness relations. Cooperation between Greece and
China, which up to now has been mainly focused
in shipping, is also very promising in the field of
mining (marbles) and metals ―since China is
already importing 68% of total Greek exports of
these products― and, of course, in the field of
agricultural exports. Greek-Chinese business
partnerships can, and hopefully will, assume new
dynamism through the joint effort of all competent
agencies, state or private, with the aim of increas-
ing the scope of cooperation between the two
countries.
However, In order to attract foreign investments,
Greece should abolish a series of disincentives
that impede entrepreneurship (red tape, lack of
transparency, taxation, overregulation, etc.),
which forced even Greek entrepreneurships to
direct their investments to other Balkan countries.
Cooperation with China and the growth of exports
to this country are neither a panacea nor easy,
and Chinese investments in Greece cannot be
realized only on Greek terms. There has to be a
thorough dialogue and real cooperation between
the government of the day and the business
associations, among all stakeholders. Being will-
ing is not enough, we must also be able…
