Politics of China

Hong Kong police on July 22defended their actions and the lack of arrests after opposition lawmakers said police had failed to protect a train full of anti-government protesters from a triad gangster attack on July 21.

A tense calm descended on Hong Kong early on July 2, hours after police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who had stormed the legislature in chaotic scenes to protest against an extradition bill in a direct challenge to Beijing.

Combative protesters tried to break into the Hong Kong legislature on July 1 as a crowd of thousands were marching in that direction on the 22nd anniversary of the former British colony's return to China.

A huge peaceful protest in Hong Kong against controversial plans to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland descended into violence early June 10 as police clashed with small pockets of demonstrators outside the city's parliament.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Foreign Minister Yorgos Katrougalos are in China for the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, based on the ancient Silk Road, linking East and Southeast Asia with East Africa, West Asia, and southern Europe.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is to visit China later this week, his third visit as premier in as as many years to attend a summit on China's Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on April 27.

Amid tightening relations between Greece and China, Tsipras is also expected to meet with top government officials and explore prospects for economic cooperation.

The agreement should be signed in the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative during the upcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Secretary of State with the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) Dan Neculaescu will attend on Monday the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), which will take place in Brussels. According to a MAE release, the main topics included on the agenda are the Republic of Moldova, China and Yemen.

Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos shakes hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing Monday. "There is a significant alignment of interests, precisely because we too endeavor that our country becomes a bridge between Europe, Asia and Africa," Katrougalos said in a statement. [Reuters]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can benefit all countries, all peoples, and Piraeus port project in Greece is a good example, two Chinese experts told Xinhua on the sidelines of the fourth annual Delphi Economic Forum that concluded on Sunday.