China’s Jiang Visits Greece to Boost Ties

ATHENS — Chinese President Jiang Zemin discussed cooperation in trade and tourism, and answered questions about China’s human rights record, on the first day of his visit to Athens on Friday.

Jiang’s trip to Greece, after visits to the Middle East and Turkey, comes as China tries to raise its international profile and play a more active role as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

China is also seeking to improve ties with the European Union, of which Greece is a member, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said.

Current cooperation in economics and technology is good, and trade between the two countries is growing, Zhu said. China also signed an agreement with Greece to import 200,000 tons of aluminum, with the first 40,000 tons, valued at $9 million, being shipped this year, he said.

The spokesman said that “Prime Minister Costas Simitis brought up the human rights issue, . . . which we believe is in the best condition since the founding of modern China.”

He added that although the human rights situation was not perfect, democratization and economic development have made for improvements.

Greek media reported that the country’s branch of Amnesty International had appealed to Simitis to raise human rights issues with Jiang.

Jiang’s trip--the first by a Chinese president--was to reciprocate for a visit to China by Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos.

Greece and China have enjoyed warm ties in recent years, boosted by Chinese support for the failed Greek bid to gain a nonpermanent seat on the U.N. Security Council in 1998, Greek Foreign Ministry officials have said.

Jiang also spoke of boosting the tourist trade, saying China is gradually beginning to allow some of its citizens to travel beyond its borders.

“In the old days, the Chinese did not travel abroad. . . . Now they are slowly starting to get out of the country,” Jiang said after meeting with the Greek president.

Zhu said Greek ministers had proposed specific measures to encourage the Chinese, taking advantage of economic progress at home, to visit Greece.

Jiang arrived Friday for a three-day state visit, which includes touring Greece’s ancient sites.

His agenda includes visits to the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis, the marble Olympic stadium in Athens used to launch the modern Games and the Knossos ruins in Crete.

Greek officials said they expected no major policy initiatives to stem from Jiang’s visit but hoped to intensify Sino-Greek commercial and diplomatic relations.

One official said China ranked 33rd on Greece’s export list in 1998, the latest figures available, purchasing only $16.5 million of goods, including marble and fertilizer.

China, by contrast, exported $490.4 million worth of goods to Greece, leaving Athens with a trade deficit of $474 million.

The Chinese president will fly from Crete to South Africa on Monday morning.