Vasilis Trigkas, an Onassis Visiting Scholar at the European Institute, participated in a panel discussion on the New Maritime Silk Road and Sino-Hellenic Cooperation at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center in Beijing. He discussed the impact of COSCO’s acquisition of Piraeus port for Greece and the rising commercial significance of the “Orient – European shipping root” which will perhaps outcompete the Pacific root due to the asymmetric technical capacity between the Suez and the Panama canal. This disruptive change and China’s commitment to Maritime Logistical investments, Mr Trigkas insisted, comes as a Deus ex Machina for the Mediterranean Economy.
Other participants of the event included Mr. Panos Laskaridis (President Elect of the European Shipowners Association), Mr. Leonidas Rokanas (Ambassador of Greece in China), Prof Shi Zhiqin (Tsinghua University), Dr. Song Xiaomin (European Department of CASS) and Mr. Emannuel Stanzos (Economic Attaché of Greece in Beijing).