The Greek economy is showing signs of picking up speed and the country is pushing programs of privatization to avoid debt defaults, Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis said on Tuesday.
Kouvelis made the remarks during his three-day visit to China, thanking China for its vote of confidence and calling it one of the most important during a period of economic difficulty.
He was referring to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's announcement during his visit to Greece last October that China would continue to participate in the purchase of Greek treasury bonds.
When asked how Greece can ensure investors that the country's finances are under control, Kouvelis said Greece is making certain that its reform programs will work effectively.
Greece has cut public spending by 50 percent, proceeded with reforms of both the tax system and the labor and pension schemes, and is implementing a program of privatization, Kouvelis said.
He said that Greece's export rose by 10 percent last year.
The EU and IMF agreed on a 110-billion-euro (158 billion U. S. dollars) bailout package for Greece in May last year, but one year later, the debt-laden country was rumored to need an additional rescue of 60 billion euros (86 billion U.S. dollars) over the next two years.
A German magazine said Greece was considering exiting the euro and returning to the drachma as its currency, which led to Standard and Poor's (S&P's)downgrade of Greece's sovereign credit rating from BB - to B.
Kouvelis dismissed that as "speculation," and he cited IMF and EU reports that say the reform program is going well.
"All these discussions of disaster scenarios have nothing to do with the reality," Kouvelis said. "The reality is that everyone in Greece is working hard to fight through difficult times, and we are confident that we will make it."
The deputy foreign minister, who is in China for a three-day visit to boost tourism between the two ancient civilizations, is present to see the reopening of flights from Beijing to Athens and the signing of a joint statement to simplify visa procedures.
The flights from Beijing to Athens via Munich is operated by Air China. The duration of the flight is 13 hours and 25 minutes, and there are two flights a week.
The Greek government hopes to boost the number of Chinese visitors to Greece each year from 10,000 to 100,000 in one or two years, Kouvelis said.
On Greece-China economic cooperation, Kouvelis said he was confident that the two countries can realize an annual trade volume of 8 billion dollars within five years.
He said in addition to ocean shipping, the two countries can also cooperate more in environmental technology, new energy technology, pharmaceutical industry and air transport.
The two countries also are trying to expand the capacity of Piraeus Port, which has investment from Chinese shipping giant COSCO, to make it a major distribution and transit center./.