Greece has vetoed a European Union condemnation of China’s human rights record at the UN, infuriating diplomats and rights organisations, who said the move undermined the EU’s position as a defender of human rights.
In a decision described as deplorable by some, it emerged on Sunday that Athens had refused to endorse an EU statement criticising the crackdown on activists and dissidents under the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. The statement was due to be submitted to the UN’s human rights council in Geneva last Thursday. Greece’s decision was directly attributed to huge Chinese investments in the economically depressed country. China’s biggest shipping company, Cosco, bought a 51% stake in Piraeus, Greece’s largest port, for €280.5m last year as part of plans to make the country a shipping hub between Asia and eastern Europe.
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