今天，中国和希腊，一个位于太平洋西岸的国家和一个位于地中海北岸的国家，共同举办中希海洋合作论坛，这在两国交往史上还是第一次，有着十分丰富的内涵，具有特殊深远的意义。

Today, the China-Greece marine cooperation forum is being held, the first of its kind in the history of exchanges between China and Greece, one on the western coast of the Pacific and the other on the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The event is therefore of special and profound significance as it offers plenty room for discussion.

中国和希腊都是毗邻大海的古老国家，都有悠久的航海历史。2500多年前，当中国春秋时期的齐景公在渤海和黄海海域留下航行记录时，古希腊城邦雅典的商船穿梭于地中海沿岸。爱琴海孕育了伟大的古希腊文明，也塑造了希腊人包容乐观向上的精神和理性勇敢的性格。希腊人还创造了先进的航海技术，促进了海洋文化的发展。

China and Greece are both ancient countries facing the sea and both have a long tradition of navigation. When Duke Jing of the state of Qi of China’s Spring and Autumn Period navigated in China’s Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea over 2,500 years ago, merchant ships of Athens, the ancient Greek city-state, sailed along the coast of the Mediterranean. The Aegean Sea has nurtured the great ancient Greek civilization and shaped the character of the Greek people, known for being inclusive, optimistic, courageous and for their good sense of reasoning. Greece has also created advanced navigation technologies and promoted the development of an oceanic culture.

中华文明的发展历程中也没有离开过海洋，正是以大海为主要纽带，我们同其他国家互通有无，古代的海上丝绸之路与陆上丝绸之路南北呼应。600多年前，中国航海家郑和率领庞大的船队，把中华文化带到了东南亚、西亚、非洲东海岸。20世纪70年代末，中国开启了改革开放的伟大事业，沿海城市率先对外开放，中国再次通过海洋走向世界。

Likewise, the development of the Chinese civilization has never been separated from the influence of oceans. It has been via the ocean that China has conducted trade with other countries, in the process of which the Silk Road on the land in the north complemented the maritime one in the south. Over 600 years ago, Chinese navigator Zheng He and his impressive fleet brought along Chinese culture to Southeast Asia, West Asia and the east coast of Africa. With the introduction of the great cause of reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, China’s coastal cities became the first to open to the outside world. The ocean, once again, helped China reach out to the world.