On May 18, 2018, the 12th Meeting of the China-Greece Joint Commission on Science and Technology was held in Athens. The meeting was co-chaired by Li Meng, Vice Minister of Science and Technology of China, and Costas Fotakis, Alternate Minister of Education, Research and Religious Affairs of Greece. Greek Minister of Education, Research and Religious Affairs Kostas Gavroglu attended the meeting and introduced to the Chinese side the overall work of his ministry and expressed his expectation for China-Greece cooperation in science and technology.  
   
Vice Minister Li Meng briefed the Greek side on China‘s science and innovation collaboration with foreign countries, stressing that China will be committed to implementing the innovation-driven development strategy, development driven by both scientific and technological innovation and institutional innovation, and high-quality development led by science and innovation. The goals are to continue to strengthen basic research, promote industrial technology system innovation, and increase openners and cooperation in building innovation capacity. 
   
Alternate Minister Costas Fotakis introduced to the Chinese side Greece’s policies, current development and international exchanges and cooperation in science and technology and shared with the Chinese side Greece’s judgment and understanding of knowledge economy and main plans for science and technology innovation, pointing out that there is a good foundation for China-Greece cooperation in science and technology. He noted that there are increasingly close contacts and deepening willingness to collaborate between research institutions, universities and enterprises between the two countries. He said that Greece is willing to continue to play an active role in our cooperation in science and innovation.
   
The two sides agreed that science and innovation are important driving forces for sustainable development in all fields of cooperation between the two countries. Both sides affirmed the important role of the China-Greece Joint Commission on Science and Technology Cooperation in planning, promoting and coordinating comprehensive cooperation in science and innovation between the two countries and spoke highly of the exciting progress made in science and technology cooperation between the two countries since the Eleventh Joint Commission Meeting in 2014. The two sides agreed to deepen their cooperation in science and innovation in the fields of environment and sustainable development, energy, agricultural food, cultural heritage protection, electronic information, new materials, life science, and science parks, so as to inject new impetus into the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Greece. Both sides believed that the Belt and Road Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping provides new opportunities for bilateral cooperation. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in people-to-people exchanges in science and technology, co-building of joint laboratories, science parks and technology transfer.
   
Before the meeting, Vice Minister Li Meng met with Alternate Minister Fotakis and exchanged in-depth views on bilateral relations in science and technology. After the meeting, the two sides signed the Minutes of the Twelfth Meeting of the Joint Commission on Science and Technology Cooperation of the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Greece and the Action Plan for Cooperation in Science and Technology Innovation between the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China and the General Secretariat of Research and Technology/Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs of the Republic of Greece.