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As rising costs push Greeks away from Turkey’, Turkish tourists flock to Greece’

26/05/2026 by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

Economic relations between Greeks and Turks have changed significantly in recent years.

The two neighbors have long witnessed political leaders tossing and turning between the conflict and what diplomats call “sakin waters” (a phrase used to describe the current spell).

Overall trade and tourism volumes have doubled in five years, but gains have fallen unevenly on both sides compared to what was previously observed.

Maria Dimou, who lives in ’, Istanbul, “Up until about 10 years ago, people came to ’ from Greece, especially Istanbul, Edirne and Keşan. But now we see a lot more visitors coming to ’ from Turkey’ to Greece, because everything they want to buy is cheaper there, ” said.

Dimou continued: “TurkeyThe basic needs one needs to live and make a living in ’ are cheap.”

But when they want to buy something more expensive “prices go up, so they go to ’ in Greece and visit Thrace’, especially Alexandroupolis’, but some also go as far as Kavala’ for vacation or shopping, and especially here [in Turkey’] they go for food, drink and cold meat, which is very expensive” added.

GreeceThe number of Turks visiting ’ has tripled in four years

While the number of Greeks visiting ’ each year has remained stable at just over 500,000’, the number of Turks arriving in ’ in Greece has tripled over the past four years on a similar basis; According to estimates obtained by the relevant authorities from various sources, it exceeded 1.5 million last year, but the official ELSTAT figures are slightly lower.

Doruk Euronews’e, a computer engineer who lives permanently in Ankara’ but whom we met at a popular shopping mall in Istanbul’, said: “I went on holiday to ’a in Greece last month. I drove all the way to Kavala and Thessaloniki ’ and honestly I really liked Greece ’. The food was delicious, the portions were generous, and everything was cheap.”

TurkeyPeople in ’ Greecereact to the more affordable prices in ’ and say they want to return as soon as possible.

Symeon Soltaridis, who lives in Istanbul’ and is the President of the Balino Greek Community, said that “Many Turks either make day trips to the Edirne region and go to Orestiada’ from there, or gradually switch to Greece’ as a tourist, because the cost of tourism in Greece’ is much lower than in Turkey’, and as a result, thousands of people go to the Greek islands, especially in the summer months, passing through Ayvalık and other regions” said.

Greek Consulate in ’ is issuing 1,300 visas per day

Greece has become a very attractive destination for Turkish citizens. According to diplomatic sources, only the Greek consulate in Istanbul’ issues about 1,300 visas per day; Most of them are very introverted. These visas are primarily provided by Turks who plan repeated visits for the holiday, but shopping trips are also available.

This figure does not include approximately 25,000 Turks who have obtained or are in the process of obtaining a residence permit through golden visa programs or by working in ’, Greece.

In addition, within the scope of a quick on-site visa arrangement, a large number of people living in large parts of Izmir and Anadolu’, who made short visits to 12 islands in the Northeast Aegean ’ and Twelve Islands ’ for up to seven days, were not taken into account.

Eastern Aegean’de ‘Visa Express’

The plan, known as the “ Visa Express, and announced as part of the broader ” interpersonal diplomacy, was approved by the European Commission and launched after the Kyriakos Mitsotakis government met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Greece-Turkey High-Level Cooperation Council session.

The program includes 12 candidates: Kalymnos, Kastellorizo, Kos, Lesbos, Leros, Limni, Rhodes, Samos, Symi, Chios, Patmos and Samothrace. Visas are issued at port entry points, are valid for seven days and link the holder to the island where the visa is issued; Passage from the island to the island is not allowed. As a result, there was a strong tourism increase in the islands.

Kos topped the list of destinations last year largely because of its proximity to Bodrum’, followed by Rhodes and Chios, which attracted predominantly high-income visitors.

Lesbos and Samos were in the top five. August was the busiest month in 2025’ with about 281,000 arrivals; This was followed by July with 233,000 arrivals and September with about 188,000 arrivals.

‘Greeks can no longer cope with prices in Istanbul’

However, there are complaints that Greeks who come to ’ in Turkey are no longer shopping as before.

Kantar Pehlivanoğlu, owner of a street stall that sells jewelry and fashion accessories in Istanbul’, told euronews’e: “I had more Greek customers in the past, but now it is even harder for them to come to ’, let alone shop, Turkey, and this is because of their financial situation compared to the past.”

Soltaridis of Istanbul also underlined that prices have become too high for Greek visitors.

“, once upon a time, they would come and take all sorts of things. Now they come, they look, they experience the city, they see us, the Greek Cypriots, but they can't buy anymore because things have become expensive, ” said.

According to official figures, every Greek who visited Turkey’ last year spent an average of 340 euros per trip; This figure has increased by about 50 euros a year over the past three years.

However, this increase in practice leads to fewer purchases than before. TurkeyThe sharp increase in ’'s cost of living means that Greek visitors receive less in return for their money.

Turkish visitors to ’, meanwhile, spent an average of just over 300 Euro’ per trip, or precisely over 303 Euro’, according to the latest data from the Bank of Greek’.

Dimou, “GreeceIt is much cheaper to go to ’, eat there in a tavern, drink ouzo or other drinks, spend the night here and return, than to go to a similar tavern in Istanbul’, ” explained.

“GreeceThe quality of food in ’ has increased significantly, and while prices are considered affordable for Turks, here in Turkey’ has increased rapidly.”

Great change in the Greek-Turkish trade balance

At the same time, according to the Greek Statistical Institute’ (ELSTAT), there has been a significant shift in the trade balance between the two countries over the past few years.

For example, imports from Turkey ’ to Greece ’ reached 1.34 billion Euro’ in 2020’, exceeded 2 billion Euro’ the following year and 3 billion Euro’ in 2024’te, and are currently estimated at 3.34 billion Euros for last year.

In contrast, it is estimated that for 2025, exports from ’ to Turkey ’ will be only 1.37 billion euros; This figure has fallen in the last three years, reaching 3 billion Euro’ in 2022’, the last year in which Greece’ exports more to Turkey than it imports to ’.

How can the EU defend itself as the trade war with China approaches?

18/05/2026 by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

While Chinese-made products fill the EU market and threaten thousands of jobs, the European Commission is stepping up its work to protect the bloc's production from the risk of China ’ overproduction.

The move comes after data from Chinese customs showed Beijing ’ raised $113 billion more in the first four months of 2026’ than $91 billion in the same period as EU-27 and 2025’. While the surplus increased by $22 billion in 12 months, AB’'s trade deficit with China had already reached 359.9 billion euros in 2025’te.

In recent weeks, Beijing has repeatedly threatened retaliation for various EU laws restricting Chinese companies' access to a single market, while pressure on Brussels is mounting.

On Friday, China also banned these companies from communicating with the Commission on EU foreign subsidy investigations.

To address the China issue and try to ensure equal conditions, EU Commission members are set to discuss the issue on May 29, ’. What options does Europe’ have on the table?

1. Reducing dependence on Chinese components

Financial TimesOn Monday, the European Commission reported that ’nda is in preparation for a plan that would force EU companies to purchase critical components from at least three different suppliers.

The idea is that for products that can be purchased from a single supplier, the approximate %From 30 to %It will be necessary to set thresholds of 40’, the rest of which must be obtained from at least three different suppliers, not all from the same country.

The proposal comes after China’ restricted exports of rare earth elements and chips critical to AB’'s key industries, such as green technology, cars and defense, last year.

2. Targeting strategic sectors with tariffs

In its economic security strategy, which it presented last December, the European Commission also said it would introduce new tools by September 2026 ’ to strengthen the protection of the EU industry from unfair trade policies and overcapacity.

Maroš Šefčovič euronews’e said: “If we see that we are not being treated fairly, we will fight hard for every job in ’, for every European company, for every open sector.”

China's decision to impose new quotas and double tariffs on global steel imports, dominated by ’'s overcapacity, was already adopted by EU countries and the European Parliament in April.

Now the chemical industry is under the spotlight. China’in chemical imports in five years is up. But the EU chemical sector also relies on exports abroad, including China, the industry's fourth export market, which complicates any measures aimed at China’i.

European chemical industry lobby group Cefic’in trade expert Philipp Sauer euronews’e said: “As an export-oriented industry, the European chemical industry %It carries out more than 30’ abroad. This creates a risk of retaliation from third countries.”

3. Applying anti-dumping or anti-subsidy taxes to imports

The Commission will also be able to impose taxes on Chinese companies if import prices fall below the price at which they sell their products on the domestic market. It can also investigate companies that receive unfair subsidies.

However, investigations can last up to 18 months, and the cases are accumulating in the ’, the Commission's General Directorate of Commerce, and there are only 140 officials in these authorities.

Sauer said one-third to half of the ongoing investigations were related to the chemical industry.

4. Using the Anti-Pressure Vehicle

The Anti-Printing Tool is a last resort tool called a commercial bazooka, which can be used in the event of economic pressure from a third country and allows AB’ to hit China’ with powerful measures such as restricting access to licenses or public tenders in AB’.

However, its use will require the support of a qualified majority of member states, which is not guaranteed.

Germany opposes EU’'s tariffs on 2024’te China’in electric vehicles. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has visited China ’ four times in three years, also supports closer ties with Beijing ’ and seeks to secure large Chinese investments.

5. Unification of Member States

At the same time, Brussels faces the risk that its separation strategy will face serious resistance from national governments. EU member states are divided over how to approach China’, which could lead Beijing’'s capitals to play against each other.

Such differences are already emerging in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, where AB’ proposes a new mechanism that requires the gradual decommissioning of so-called high-risk suppliers such as Huawei and ZTE in strategic sectors, starting with telecommunications.

The proposal, which is included in the renewal of the EU Cyber Security Act, sparks controversy among many European governments, especially Spain and Germany, who have long worked with Chinese equipment and are now deeply embedded in their digital infrastructure.

This de-risk strategy also raised financial concerns; because Chinese suppliers are much cheaper than European alternatives such as Ericsson and Nokia; This is partly due to the fact that Beijing has publicly provided financial support.

European telecom operators have sought financial compensation from AB’ for the replacement of their equipment in China“, taking the USA”'s ’sök and replace’ program as an example, but neither the EU nor national governments seem willing to put the money on the table.

In other words, the political and economic cost of AB’'s complete separation from China’ could be high.

It is not yet known whether European countries are willing to put up with this.

Trump in Beijing’de: How do America and China compare as economic superpowers?

13/05/2026 by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

As US President Donald Trump arrives at Beijing ’ on Wednesday for a three-day summit to be completed on Friday, even symbolism alone is of paramount importance.

This was Trump’'s first official visit to China since his previous visit to ’ in early 2017, nearly nine years ago.

The geopolitical background of this visit is much more unstable than at the time. The Iran war has shaken global energy markets, disrupted shipping routes and renewed concerns over a broader regional tension.

Meanwhile, China has sought to position itself as a source of economic continuity and diplomatic stability by strengthening trade ties between Southeast Asia, the Gulf and parts of Africa and Latin America ’.

In addition to its participation in the Middle East ’, the United States is actively consolidating its influence in the Western Hemisphere “ through the renewed ”Monroe Doctrine’.

The Trump administration effectively removed the Venezuelan regime from China ’ through military action, economically pressured the Cuban administration to the brink of collapse through sanctions, and with many Latin American and Caribbean countries, “A created a new security coalition called ’'s Shield.

American strategy has reintroduced military and economic priority in the region with the aim of reducing Chinese influence and securing critical supply chains. For example, the United States and China are currently in a heated dispute over port control in the Panama Canal.

The U.S. is still richer, but China has reshaped the global economy

Since Trump’'s 2017 visit to China in ’, the United States has continued to lead the global economy.

According to IMF’'s latest estimates released in April, US nominal GDP’ is expected to exceed $30 trillion (25.5 trillion euros) in 2026’, while China’ is expected to exceed about $20 trillion (17 trillion euros); This is the turn of the global economy. and represents his share of ’.

The U.S. and China have been ranked in the top two in nominal GDP rankings for over a decade; But while the difference is huge, China is shrinking as it grows faster.

According to IMF figures, China’'s real GDP annual growth rate has averaged 5.48 percent since 2017’'s, USA’'s 2.5 percent and the world's 3.26 percent. In fact, the Chinese economy is growing at twice the rate of its American rival and well above the global growth rate.

ChinaOne of the key contributors to ’'s above-average performance was that it was the only major country to end 2020’ with economic growth after the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the global economy.

China ’'s annual real GDP growth for this year %4,4, USA’nin %2.3 and the world. %It is expected to be 3.1.

China also surpassed the U.S. ’ in purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2016 to have a larger share of the global economy, and since then the gap has widened further. The measure is adjusted to domestic price levels and reflects the true scale of production and consumption in an economy.

This shift underscores how China’ has become central to global production, supply chains and commodity demand.

However, the living standards between the two countries are still quite different.

IMF estimates that by 2026 the U.S. ’'s GDP per capita will be over $94,000’ (€79,850), while China's is close to $15,000’ (€12,750) and the world's is almost $16,000 (€13,600).

Despite decades of rapid growth, China's economy still faces structural challenges such as poor domestic consumption, high youth unemployment, a slowdown in the real estate sector and demographic pressures due to an aging population.

Supply chains and export-related conflicts

The latest debate over supply chains was triggered in April when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ’ accused China’ of committing ’bully ’ by detaining dozens of Panama-flagged ships after China’ overturned contracts earlier this year allowing Hong Kong“'s CK Hutchison company to manage two port terminals.

Despite several rounds of negotiations last year, trade tensions remain at the heart of the U.S.-China relationship.

Although both countries eased some tariffs and export restrictions in late 2025’, disputes remain over semiconductors, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and access to critical minerals.

US President Donald Trump's list of business leaders attending ’'s trip to China underscores the main issues discussed. The group of more than a dozen senior executives includes Elon Musk, departing Apple CEO Tim Cook and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

The Trump administration has restricted the sale of Nvidia’'s H200 AI chips to China’e, citing the possibility that they could be used for military purposes. Exports are limited under a number of conditions, such as third-party testing to verify performance capabilities before shipping to Chinese customers.

Since then, Nvidia has been lobbying the White House ’ to lift restrictions.

In general, Washington accuses Beijing’i of using state subsidies and industrial policy to distort global markets, while Chinese officials argue that U.S. export controls are designed to slow China’'s technological development.

China’'s external reserves

Beijing has significant financial firepower as it continues to grow.

According to data from the Chinese State Foreign Exchange Administration, as well as reports from the state-run Xinhua news agency, China’in foreign exchange reserves amount to more than $3.2 trillion (€2.8 trillion), continuing to be the world's largest foreign exchange reserves.

These funds provide policymakers with a significant capacity to manage financial volatility and support the Chinese yuan or renminbi.

The U.S. has relatively smaller reserves but continues to benefit from the global dominance of the dollar, which remains the primary currency used in international trade and central bank reserves.

Gold assets reflect another dimension of competition. According to the World Gold Council, the United States officially holds the largest national gold reserve of more than 8,100 tons.

However, as Beijing seeks to divert its reserves from dollar-denominated assets and strengthen long-term confidence in the yuan, China has steadily expanded its own holdings in recent years.

As of this month, the People's Bank of China has entered an 18-month buying streak, China's central bank's longest non-stop gold buying spree. Total stocks have reached new records and are over 2,300 tons.

Artificial intelligence and military spending have become central battlefields

Economic rivalry between Washington and Beijing is increasingly inseparable from military and technological rivalry.

According to data released last month by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the top three countries in the world that spend militarily are the United States, China and Russia, respectively, which together account for the global total of is ’ini.

2025’te US spent $954 billion (EUR 810.3 billion); This figure is actually about the same as the previous year. %It was 7.5 lower, but this was due to the fact that no new financial aid to Ukraine’ya was approved.

The country has still increased investments in nuclear and conventional military capabilities in order to maintain its dominance in the Western Hemisphere ’, which is set as the priorities of the new US National Security Strategy, and to deter the Indo-Pacific ’ of China.

Expenditure approved by the U.S. Congress for this year has already risen to over $1 trillion (849.4 billion euros); This is according to 2025’e %5Represents an increase of more than ’, and US President Donald Trump, if ’'s latest budget proposal is accepted, could jump even further to $1.5 trillion (1,275 trillion euros) in 2027’.

SIPRI estimates that ’'s defense budget for 2025 is around $336 billion, but some analysts believe that broader spending on security could technically push the real figure even higher.

While China has rapidly modernized its military over the past decade by expanding its naval capacity, missile systems and cyber warfare capabilities, the United States still maintains a significant advantage through its global alliance network, including NATO partnerships and security ties with Indo-Pacific ’te Japan, South Korea and Australia.

Taiwan remains the most sensitive issue in the relationship. Beijing sees the autonomous island as part of its territory and has repeatedly criticized US ’'s military assistance to Taipei’.

Washington argues that maintaining stability in the Taiwan Strait ’ is vital to regional security and global trade flow, especially given Taiwan ’'s central role in advanced semiconductor production.

Technology, that is, artificial intelligence, has emerged as perhaps the defining field of competition.

The U.S. has significant strengths in advanced chip design, aerospace, software and research capacity. Meanwhile, China has established dominant positions in the fields of electric vehicle batteries, renewable energy infrastructure, telecommunications equipment and industrial production.

According to Bruegel and SNE Research ’, Chinese companies now have the capacity to produce solar photovoltaics globally. %More than 90’ and the global EV battery market %It makes up more than 70’.

These sectors are seen by Beijing as strategically important for future economic impact.

At the same time, Washington has tightened restrictions on advanced semiconductor exports due to concerns over artificial intelligence and military applications.

Trump ’'s visit, therefore, will likely be judged not on urgent agreements, but on whether competition helps prevent further deterioration of relations between the two powers, which are increasingly shaping global trade, investment and security.

The U.S. remains the dominant military and financial force backed by the global role of the dollar and the depth of American capital markets.

But China has become a systemic competitor with industrial scale, export access, and state-sponsored investment capacity that could impact supply chains, infrastructure, and geopolitical alignments around the world.

For Beijing, the summit offers an opportunity to reflect confidence and stability amid wider international uncertainty. For Washington, this is a test of whether ’ can continue to shape the economic and strategic rules of an increasingly multipolar world.