On the second day of his three-day visit to Greece, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the port of Piraeus today, where Chinese shipping giant COSCO controls two of the three container terminals. Accompanying the Chinese leader was his Greek counterpart Antonis Samaras.

During this highly symbolic visit to the port, the two leaders inaugurated the new train that would transport trade of Chinese goods from COSCO to all of Europe through the Greek Railway Organization (OSE).

Mr. Li stressed that cooperation between China and Greece is “mutually beneficial” while Mr. Samaras declared that Greece could become “China’s gateway to Europe, and the start of a European trade corridor between Europe and the Far East.

Prior to the visit, Mr. Li had underlined China’s interest in expanding its presence at the country’s main port. COSCO is believed to be interested in gaining a 67 percent stake in the Piraeus Port Authority, one of several assets that Greece has pledged to privatize.

The Piraeus Container Terminal project has become a model of Sino-Greek and Sino-European cooperation, said Mr. Li, calling for more investment from both sides. The port, the largest in Greece, is jointly operated by China’s state-owned shipping giant COSCO and the Greek port authority under a 35-year lease that was signed in 2009.

During this visit, Chinese and Greek officials and entrepreneurs are signing a total of 20 agreements worth around $7 billion dollars, chiefly concerning infrastructure, transport and energy.

Earlier today, the two leaders visited the Acropolis which the latter described to Greek reporters as “wonderful.” In the afternoon, the Chinese premier is to travel to Crete where Mr. Samaras is to meet him tomorrow.