China, Greece pledge closer parliamentary exchanges, economic cooperation

China and Greece pledged to strengthen parliamentary exchanges and boost economic cooperation during a meeting between top Chinese legislator Zhang Dejiang and Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Friday. Samaras arrived in Beijing on Wednesday and is paying a five-day official visit to China. Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said during the meeting that China and Greece have enjoyed a new development phase in their ties since they established a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2006, adding that the two sides have achieved important consensus during Samaras' current visit. The NPC is willing to promote friendly contact with the Greek parliament at all levels and strengthen communication on the construction of democracy and legal systems so as to enrich bilateral relations, Zhang said. Samaras said parliamentary exchanges serve as an important bridge between the two countries and Greece is ready to enhance communication between the parliament of Greece and the NPC to further advance the relationship between the two countries. A joint communique was issued Friday. It noted that the two sides have agreed to step up economic and trade cooperation through the joint economic and trade committee meeting mechanism and encourage companies to carry out more mutual investment. Greece welcomes China to participate in the privatization of the country's state-owned assets, while China says it will encourage companies to import more products with a comparative advantage from Greece, according to the communique. Both sides also agree to oppose all forms of protectionism in trade and investment, according to the communique.