The Changing Meaning of Piraeus Port in China-greece Relations From Post Crisis Privatization to Critical Infrastructure Debate
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT Piraeus Port’s changing meaning in China-Greece relations can be traced from Greece’s post crisis privatization period to the more recent European debate on critical infrastructure and strategic risk. It is neither a simple example of successful Chinese investment nor a direct security threat, but a layered infrastructure site whose significance shifted across institutional settings. Privatization records, PPA corporate documents, China-Greece diplomatic texts, environmental and complaints mechanism materials, and EU oversight documents show how the port was first restructured as a privatized public asset and later became visible as a corporate and logistical node under COSCO’s majority presence. By 2018-2019, Piraeus had entered the diplomatic language of the Belt and Road Initiative, the China-Europe Land Sea Express Line, and comprehensive strategic partnership. Port expansion at the same time generated environmental, local, and governance contestation, while EU documents later connected Piraeus to debates on investment screening, strategic dependence, customs control, and fiscal oversight. The port is therefore best read not through either a celebratory investment narrative or an alarmist threat frame, but as a case where economic recovery, connectivity diplomacy, local governance, and critical infrastructure oversight intersect. Keywords: Piraeus Port, China-Greece relations, COSCO, Belt and Road Initiative, critical infrastructure, EU investment screening.
Author: RAHMAN, REJHAN
Institution: Harran University
Language: English
Topic: Belt and Road Initiative
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204707968