On May 15, 2019, Premier Li Keqiang met with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos of Greece at the Great Hall of the People.

Li Keqiang said that Greece is China's reliable partner in the European Union. Yesterday, President Xi Jinping and Mr. President held a fruitful meeting, jointly planning the development of bilateral relations in the future. The Chinese side congratulated Greece on successfully exiting its bailout program, solving the naming dispute with the Republic of North Macedonia that has lasted for years and officially joining the cooperation mechanism between China and Central and Eastern European countries not long ago. We are willing to better align the Belt and Road Initiative with the development strategies of Greece, and deepen practical cooperation with Greece, countries in Central and Eastern Europe, and the European Union on the basis of mutual respect and equal treatment, so as to inject fresh impetus into the development of China-Greece relations, cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries and China-European Union relations.

Li Keqiang pointed out that China and Greece are both ancient civilizations. As there are various civilizations in the world, we should promote the dialogue, exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations to boost the progress of the civilizations of mankind. China will continuously remain committed to the path of peaceful development and constantly promote reform and opening up. We are willing to work with various countries, including Greece, to facilitate dialogue and exchanges among civilizations, in a bid to create a peaceful and stable environment for economic development and improvement of people's livelihood.

Prokopis Pavlopoulos said that Greece and China share many similarities and are both ancient civilizations. Greece is the cradle of western civilization, and civilizations should be peaceful. Clash among civilizations is a huge fallacy that blocks the bridge of exchanges among civilizations and breeds barbarism and terrorism. China has showcased its determination of opening up to the world, and made important contributions to such areas as poverty alleviation and climate change for the world. Hailing the robust Greece-China relations and cooperation, Prokopis Pavlopoulos said that Greece is willing to be China's gateway to Europe and continue to promote cooperation in jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative over land and at sea. Europe needs to deepen its cooperation with China and continuously play its part in the world.

Wang Yi and He Lifeng attended the meeting.