Reception for the occasion of the National Day

On 25 March 2025, the Consulate General of Greece in Guangzhou hosted a reception for the occasion of the National Day of the Hellenic Republic to commemorate the Greek War of Independence, which began 204 years ago, on 25 March 1821. This day also marks the important religious holiday of the Annunciation of Virgin Mary.

The reception was attended by Mr. Ye Ζhenqin, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress, Mr. Tang Hanghao, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress Guangzhou Committee, Mr. Lei Chen, Vice Chair of the Beihai Municipal People’s Government, Dr. Yan Xiangbin, President of the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, the consular corps in Guangzhou and many distinguished guests from business, academia, the Greek community and friends of Greece from south China. The Deputy Ambassador of Greece Mr. Alexandros Vidouris was also in attendance.

The Consul General of Greece, Mrs Gina Andreadi, underlined in her speech that the Greek Revolution was a fight both for national independence and for the universal values of freedom, democracy, justice and self-determination and in that same spirit Greece today, as member-state of the EU and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2025–2026 will cooperate with its partners to promote peace, multilateral dialogue, international law, peaceful resolution of disputes and a rules-based international order.

In that context, China remains one of Greece’s important strategic partners and the two countries’ bilateral relationship develops steadily and strongly in trade, maritime cooperation, investment and business, while universities’ partnerships and cultural, tourism and sports collaborations deepen mutual understanding among the two nations and create common ground in the pursuit of knowledge, creativity and progress. The Consul General also thanked the Greeks of the diaspora who live, study and work in south China for being the true ambassadors of Greece and promised that the Consulate General of Greece in Guangzhou will continue to promote Greek ties with south China and a mutually beneficial relationship, based on respect, constructive engagement and friendship.

In a similar vein, Mr. Ye Ζhenqin, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress, extended greetings to Greek friends for their National Day and reaffirmed that, as ancient civilizations, China and Greece share a long-standing and ever-growing friendship and, through their comprehensive strategic partnership, will continue to cooperate in trade, transportation, shipping, energy, telecommunications, finance and, culture, tourism and education. He underlined also that Guangdong and Greece enjoy high volumes of trade and through the sister-port relationship between Guangzhou Port and the Port of Piraeus they will continue to cooperate closely in port management, business promotion and technological applications. He also mentioned that the visa-free policy that China implements for Greece since October 2024 promotes closer cultural exchanges and mutual understanding and welcomed Greek tourists to Guandong.

The Greek pianist Sofia Levandi performed the two national anthems, as well as two musical scores by the famous Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis, “The Street of Dreams” and “The Waltz of Lost Dreams”.