In third trip to Beijing, PM to attend Belt and Road summit

In his third trip to China in as many years, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is flying to Beijing on Thursday to attend a summit on the country's Belt and Road Forum in the Chinese capital on Saturday.

The visit comes amid tightening Greek-Chinese ties and follows Greece's admission to the so-called 16+1 Initiative of Central and Eastern European countries plus China earlier this month.
Tsipras, who is to be accompanied by Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos, is to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping while officials are expected to sign a three-year memorandum for bilateral cooperation in key sectors including energy, transport, telecoms and finance.
As for the summit overall, a draft communique seen by Reuters said that 37 world leaders will agree to project financing that respects global debt goals and promotes green growth, the agency said.