Our friends the chinese

Greece has become very friendly with the Chinese, so much so that Angela Merkel recently made a remark suggesting that the two countries were getting just a little too friendly.  President Macron of France on his visit here with Brigitte urged the Europeans to invest in Greece to counterbalance the Chinese.

Recent headlines:

- China predicts tenfold rise of Chinese tourists to Greece 
-  Chinese Premier invites Greek PM to visit China
-  China to have Dynamic presence at Thessaloniki trade fair
-   Air China launches direct Beijing-Athens flights
-  Greek and Chinese Navy conduct joint training exercise 
- Chinese State Grid Corp buys 24% of Greek power grid operator

COSCO a shipping company owned by the People's Republic of China owns 51% of the company running the port of Piraeus, the biggest port in Greece.

'The Greek port of Piraeus is the first pillar of China's new maritime silk road to europe'.   Watch out Europe, the invasion has only just begun.

Soon after the deal with China Greece vetoed the EU condemnation of China's human rights record. One hand washes the other.

Chinese clothing shops are all very the country, most of them very large emporiums with these, usually faded, red lanterns hanging outside.  We buy a lot of our clothes here.  They are cheap and the clothes are ..... made in China, aren't they all?

Galatas, the 'goat village' across the waters has a large Chinese  emporium and down the road, through the lemon groves and in the middle of nowhere on the road to Athens there is another small chinese clothing shop.  It is in an area where there is a majority of migrant workers.  There is a school, a church and a firestation.  On one side of the fire station is an Indian food shop and on the other the cheap chinese clothing store.  Down a side road and out of sight is also a Hindu temple.

This is the sort of chinese shop I would welcome.  Athens and Piraeus have a few chinese restaurants but they might as well be on Mars.  I make my own but it's just not the same.  Instant noodles are the closest I get to a chow mein or a spring roll.