On November 24, 2008, Chinese President Hu Jintao flew into Athens for a state visit, which is aimed at pushing for in-depth development of China-Greece comprehensive strategic partnership.

At about 12:45 local time, Hu’s special plane arrived at Athens International Airport, where the president and his wife Liu Yongqing were warmly welcomed by Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

In a written speech issued upon his arrival at the airport, Hu pointed out that the two countries enjoy a time-honored history of friendly exchanges and the friendship between the two peoples goes back to ancient times. "In recent years, the China-Greece comprehensive strategic partnership has been consolidated continuously with increased exchanges and expanded cooperation in all sectors," said President Hu. The Chinese government and people thank for the support and assistance offered by the Greek side for the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games. He said that China attaches great importance to the development of its relations with Greece and will work together with the Greek side for even better ties in the future.

The Chinese leader said that he is looking forward to in-depth exchange of views with Greek leaders on bilateral ties and other issues of common concern and is ready to broadly engage with Greek people from all walks of life. "With the joint efforts of both sides, I believe, my current visit would be successful and would further boost the China-Greece comprehensive strategic partnership" he added.

The accompanying officials including Ling Jihua, Wang Huning and Dai Bingguo arrived by the same plane.

Chinese Ambassador to Greece Luo Linquan and the staff of the embassy also greeted Hu and his entourage at the airport.

Chinese President Hu Jintao flew into Athens by special plane from the Peruvian capital of Lima after attending the Economic Leaders' Informal Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and paying a state visit to Peru. He has already attended the G20 summit on the financial markets and world economy in Washington and, and paid state visits to Costa Rica and Cuba.