Tensions between the US and China over strategic infrastructure in Greece have intensified, focusing on the Chinese-operated Greek Port of Piraeus and a competing US-backed plan for a new hub at Elefsina.
Greece is currently advancing a legislative plan to transform Elefsina (Eleusis) into a critical energy and transnational logistics hub, a move directly backed by the US to establish a strategic alternative to the Port of Piraeus, which is largely controlled by China’s COSCO.
China has reacted with strong “dissatisfaction and firm opposition,” accusing the US of attempting to undermine Sino-Greek relations and seriously interfering in Greece’s internal affairs regarding the Port of Piraeus. This condemnation was issued by a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Athens, responding directly to remarks made by US Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle, who urged Greece to diminish Chinese influence and suggested selling the Chinese-operated Port of Piraeus.
China claims US interference in Greece’s internal politics due to Greek port tensions
The Chinese Embassy spokesperson stated that the US remarks constitute “malicious defamation of the normal Sino-Greek commercial cooperation and a serious interference in Greece’s internal affairs.” The statements were described as being “permeated with a Cold War mentality and hegemonic logic,” revealing a US intent to serve its own geopolitical interests by exploiting Piraeus and even Greece itself.
The Embassy highlighted the US attempt to incite Greece to terminate its contractual obligations regarding the port, calling this a “typical example of imposing its own thinking on others” that seeks to undermine stability. Underscoring that Greek-Chinese relations neither target third parties nor are affected by third parties, the statement hailed the Chinese investment in the port as a successful model of cooperation.
In 2008, the Chinese state-owned company COSCO won a 35-year concession to operate Piers II and III of the port. COSCO later acquired a 51 percent stake in the Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) in April 2016 for €280.5 million (now about $323 million), raising this stake to 67 percent in 2021 after an additional €86 million (now about $99 million) investment.
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