Ministry calls on new Greek govt to safeguard Chinese firms' interests

China will urge the newly elected Greek government to ensure Chinese companies' interests in Greece, after it halted the privatization of Piraeus, the biggest port in the Mediterranean, earlier this week.

The state selloff attracted great interest from China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co, the country's biggest shipping company, since the second half of 2014.

COSCO was one of the five potential buyers of a 67 percent stake in Piraeus Port Authority OLP last year under the plan agreed by the previous Greek government.

Shen Danyang, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said on Thursday that China believes that both governments are keen to continue to cooperate as they are close trading partners, as well as advance pragmatic cooperation in various industries to achieve progress, and bring financial benefits to people in both nations.

China is seeking confirmation from Greece's new government about the privatization of Piraeus port, Greece's biggest port.

With a capacity to handle more than 3.16 million TEUs per year, Piraeus port is a strategic partner for various multinational manufacturing giants such as Hewlett-Packard Co and Huawei Technologies Co.