Shipping industry of China

The Red Sea is a critically important route for companies that are shipping goods from Asia to Europe

A spokesperson for Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden has confirmed media reports that Piraeus, Greece's largest port, has been excluded from the European Ports Alliance due to significant ownership by the Chinese shipping group Cosco.

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.

Greece's Port Planning and Development Commission (ESAL) last week approved an investment plan by Chinese shipping giant Cosco for its subsidiary, Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), in essentially the same form that it had been agreed upon with the previous administration - with a reduction to the planned size of a shopping center and car terminal - but put a freeze on a proposal for an additional i

China, that vast Asian country of Confucius, Mao and modern-day communist capitalism, is the centerpiece of this year's Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), which got under way this weekend in Greece's second largest city.

"Between September 9 and 17, the center of Thessaloniki will be transformed into a mini-Chinatown," says Tasos Tzikas, president of TIF-Helexpo.

China Cosco Shipping Corporation Limited chairman Xu Lirong is about to arrive in Athens to sign two memorandums of cooperation, both of which are of high symbolic importance to Beijing. Xu will be joined by the head of the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), the country's biggest port authority.

Cosco Shipping Ports Limited expects its growth to come from ports outside of China, such as that of Piraeus, in 2017, offsetting the losses it stands to incur from its domestic ports, according to Morgan Stanley.

Chinese shipping giant Cosco and Trans-it, a Copenhagen-based logistics and transport provider, announced on Monday they are joining forces to offer Greek shipowners VAT-free spare parts delivery.

Greece on Tuesday pushed back to August 1 the deadline for the submission of bids for the construction and operations of a freight center with access to the national railway network and its largest port in Piraeus, Greek railways said.

An agreement between the Chinese shipping and port group Cosco and Greek government will be signed on Friday noon regarding the concession of 51% of the Piraeus Port (OLP).

The agreement will be signed at Maximos Mansion in the presence of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.