Beijing

Beijing has called for an immediate stop to the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to South Korea and is ready to protect its interests, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang voiced the government's position against the move during a briefing on Tuesday.

Talks between Athens and Beijing over an extensive long-term economic cooperation agreement are at an advanced stage.

U.S. President Donald Trump said a "major, major conflict" with North Korea was possible over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, while China said the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who is due to visit Beijing on May 14 and 15, met in Athens on Thursday with Liu Qibao, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo.

The United States military started installing a controversial antimissile defense system in South Korea overnight Tuesday, triggering protests and sparking criticism that it was rushing to get the battery in place before the likely election of a president who opposes it.

China has launched its first domestically designed and built aircraft carrier, state media said Wednesday, as the country seeks to transform its navy into a force capable of projecting power onto the high seas.

China launched its first domestically built aircraft carrier on April 26 amid rising tension over North Korea and worries about Beijing's assertiveness in the South China Sea.

State media has quoted military experts as saying the carrier, China's second and built in the northeastern port of Dalian, is not expected to enter service until 2020, once it has been kitted out and armed.

Beijing is setting a medium-term target for a tenfold rise in Chinese visitors to Greece, who as of this summer will be able to use online payment platform Alipay, launched in China by Alibaba Group in 2004, in Greece too.

The World Bank Group and the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank said on April 23 they agreed to deepen their cooperation with a framework for knowledge sharing, staff exchanges, analytical work, development financing and country-level coordination.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will speak at the Ancient Civilizations Forum starting in Athens on Monday at 13:00′ at Zappion.

Earlier, Tsipras met with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi. It has been agreed that in his visit to Beijing in May, the Greek Prime Minister will sign a three-year agreement action plan to bring Chinese investments to Greece.