Greece’s port in a storm: anger as Syriza stops China extending hold on Piraeus

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The fall-out of the election victory of the left wing Syriza party in Greece continues, and now it is affecting shipping. One of the most contentious responses to the Greek sovereign debt crisis was the government’s sales of the port of Piraeus to state-owned Chinese shipping line Cosco, which took over the container terminal operations and massively increased the port’s box throughput. China’s government has made no secret for the fact that it sees Greece as its bridgehead to investing in Europe, with country also acting as a major gateway for its goods. The new Greek government has other ideas, however.