China–Greece relations

[6] The key period in the strengthening of bilateral relations came in the 1980s, when Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou sought allies beyond Europe and the US in his policy of confronting Turkey over the Cyprus and Aegean disputes, and in this context courted China under Deng Xiaoping.[10] From Chinese records it is known that Michael VII Doukas (Mie li yi ling kai sa 滅力伊靈改撒) of Fu lin (拂菻; i.e. Byzantium) dispatched a diplomatic mission to China that eventually arrived in 1081, during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song dynasty (960–1279 AD), centuries before Marco Polo's expedition.[11] Kublai Khan, the Mongol-ruler who founded the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368 AD) of China not only maintained correspondence with the Byzantine Greeks but hosted some of them at his court in Khanbaliq (modern Beijing).[12] Kublai Khan eventually honored Ai-sie with the noble title of Prince of Fu lin (Chinese: 拂菻王; Fú lǐn wáng).The contextual analysis of the gold artefacts with foreign features presented in the current paper shows that the quest for exotica along with the desire for “heavenly horses” among the ruling elites acted as the driving force that led to an unprecedented extent of imperial expansion of the Han court in Central Asia, as well as the establishment of a vast trading network during the first century BCE.Andreas Papandreou, who came to power in 1981, aggressively courted China as part of his policy of finding allies beyond Greece's traditional partners in Western Europe and the US to confront Turkey over the Cyprus and Aegean disputes.Although Papandreou was able to earn diplomatic support from Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping on some of his initiatives, the more long-lasting impact of this visit was felt in the economic and commercial fields, especially in shipping.In a similar operation coordinated with the Chinese Communist intelligence services, Onassis used his tankers to transport petroleum to China, in ships flying the Saudi flag.[30] In 2012, on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and Greece many commemoratory events were planned in both countries, such as a joint philatelic publication, circulated by the Greek and Chinese postal services.[32] On 7 July 2021, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed for the "Greece-China Year of Culture & Tourism" to begin in September 2021 and extend to 2022 since it is a good opportunity to further strengthen relations and increase tourist flows between the two countries.[35] On 27 October 2021, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held meetings in Athens with leading Greek officials on Wednesday about deepening the two countries’ economic ties.