COSCO

US President John F. Kennedy once observed that "When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity."

A Greek ferry with 80 passengers on board was the first ship to dock at Piraeus port on 2020, state-run news agency ANA-MPA reported Wednesday.

Olympus, operated by Sea Speed Ferries, arrived at the port at 2.52 a.m. on Wednesday morning, after completing the journey from Rethymno to Piraeus, with stops in Santorini and Milos.

Piraeus is expected to be among the top four ports in Europe for 2019 in terms of container traffic, and the top in the Mediterranean, as Cosco-owned Piraeus Port Authority saw the unloading of the 5 millionth container to pass through the port this year, aptly from a Cosco ship.

The Hellenic Red Cross and Chinese shipping giant Cosco on Monday announced the launch of the "Children Included" program to support 2,180 children from poor families at risk of social exclusion.

The announcement was made just days after Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Greece.

Chinese shipping giant Cosco is about to start a dialogue with the Greek government on the terms and conditions that will allow for its investment master plan for Piraeus port to expand from the currently approved 600 million to its full amount of 900 million euros with the construction of a new, fourth container terminal, according to recent talks between the Greek and Chinese state leaders.

Streets around Athens' main Syntagma square, the Hilton hotel and the Acropolis Hill will be closed off to traffic on Tuesday morning, to facilitate Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the Acropolis Museum, authorities said.

Xi, who is on an official two-day visit to Athens, will be accompanied by Greek counterpart Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Chinese President Xi Jinping seen visiting the premises of Cosco Shipping in Piraeus on Monday. China and Greece agreed on Monday to push ahead with a 600 million euros investment by Cosco into Greece's largest port as part of efforts to boost its role as a hub in rapidly growing trade between Asia and Europe.

China and Greece agreed on Monday to push ahead with a 600 million euros investment by Cosco Shipping into Greece's largest port, Piraeus, as part of efforts to boost its role as a hub in rapidly growing trade between Asia and Europe.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to Greece, expressing hope that the official visit will lead to wider cooperation between the two countries.

"My recent visit to Shanghai and yours today is inaugurating a new era in our relations, he told Xi. "I hope this visit is a milestone in the further deepening of our bilateral relations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Greece on an official visit meant to deepen economic ties between the two countries.