China's two sessions of the year, the country's most important political event, opened on Thursday after a two-month delay due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Against the backdrop of epidemic prevention and control as a new normal, the two sessions will demonstrate to the world that China has achieved a decisive phased victory in the battle against COVID-19.

As a tradition, the two sessions will invite foreign ambassadors and diplomats in China as guests. 

The Global Times interviewed ambassadors from six countries. They expressed their biggest interest and expectations toward this year's two sessions.
 

Georgios Iliopoulos, Ambassador of Greece to China

This is a post-coronavirus period. From the two sessions we expect to see what the guidance will be for China for the time to come. Topics will probably include public health, bio-security and environmental protection, issues that everybody talks about. 

We expect the two sessions to sort of signal the gradual return of China to normality and the restart of its economic activities in general, including trade.  Greece is a maritime nation and it is therefore very important for us to see China back to business and world trade restored.  

Overcoming the recession the coronavirus caused will not be easy for any country. The entire world is in an economic crisis. We would have to agree on common rules, open markets, fairness, reciprocity and a level playing field, so as to find a way for all of us to move forward together. Besides, I would pay attention to how China sees its new role and its stance in further opening up to the world.

When it comes to the two sessions, I am also interested to read about those proposals related to poverty eradication. China has managed to lift more than 700 million people out of poverty, which is a remarkable achievement for any country. Therefore, it's interesting to see how this will evolve. I understand that there were goals in place before the coronavirus outbreak, but I suppose that these goals will probably have to be re-adjusted, because of the setback caused by the coronavirus, at least in terms of time frame.

China being an engine of global growth, global trade and investments, the decisions by China's parliament promoting further openness and world growth are very important. 

Greece proved to have handled the virus crisis very effectively and is also interested in tourism. As China is having its annual parliamentary session, the Greek government announced on Wednesday May 20 that, as of June 15, Greece will welcome again, without restrictions, tourists from a select small number of countries with good epidemiological characteristics and significant progress in containing the new coronavirus, China being one of them!   

The two sessions will allow all of us who follow her policies to understand how China sees its new role and its stance in opening up to the world. 
 

（Source:Global Times）