Xu Lirong

Two Chinese officials will be in Piraeus on Monday to sign a cooperation memorandum between Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), its owner Cosco, and the port of Shanghai, concerning the increase in incoming cargo from China to Europe.

The deal will be signed by China Cosco Shipping Corporation Limited head Xu Lirong and the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) chairman Chen Xuyuan.

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.

Xu Lirong, head of China Cosco Shipping Corporation, holder of a controlling stake in Piraeus Port Authority, is the man with the greatest influence in global shipping, according to the annual rankings of Lloyd's List. The top 100 includes 15 Greek shippers.

"The Chinese people are getting better acquainted with Greece, which is now an attraction for thousands of Chinese tourists and has become fashionable in China following the news coverage on Cosco's strategic cooperation with Piraeus Port Authority," stated Xu Lirong, the head of China Cosco Shipping Corporation Limited, at the opening of the new cruise terminal at Aghios Nikolaos in Piraeus on

China's Cosco wants to more than double the number of cruise passengers using Piraeus by extending facilities for bigger ships, its chairman said on Monday.

"The movement of cruise passengers is around 1.1 million a year at present," Cosco Shipping chairman Xu Lirong said during a ceremony at the port launching new docking space for cruise ships.