Following the ceremony to celebrate the privatisation of the Piraeus Port Authority President of COSCO Xu Lirong gave an interview to the Greek Daily newspaper Kathimerini and journalist Elias Bellos. In his view the port of Piraeus will play a pivotal role for the development of the Greek economy. ‘Chinese companies see huge investment opportunities in Greece and this is something that is backed by the Chinese government,’ he said. Mr Xu also revealed plans for investments ranging from cruises and a car park to ship repair yards and shipping.