The main power utility PPC’s chief executive Manolis Panagiotakis, accompanying Greek Prime Minister Alexis on a trip to China for the country’s Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, a premier diplomatic event, has held a series of meetings with key Chinese energy-sector figures.

Panagiotakis’s meetings, according to a PPC statement, included a session with CMEC (China Machinery Engineering Corporation) president Zhang Chun as well as other highly-ranked officials of the Chinese company.

CMEC has been exploring the possibility of collaborating with PPC for the development and operation of Meliti II, a prospective carbon-fired power station in northern Greece. Other senior PPC officials joined the utility chief for the CMEC meeting, dominated by talks concerning the Meliti II project. The meeting was described as a constructive session.

The two sides also discussed the prospect of jointly developing a smart meter production facility in Greece, which would serve both the local and foreign markets. This facility would create as many as 400 jobs, according to the Greek power utility.

PPC and CMEC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last September for the Meliti II project.