Athens, Apr 5 (IANS): Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will visit Beijing to take part in the Belt and Road Forum on May 14-15, a media report has said.

The forum calls for international cooperation reviving the Silk Road trade route over land and sea, Xinhua news agency quoted a Tuesday report by the Greek national news agency AMNA.

The visit will be Tsipras' second visit to China in less than a year.

He paid an official visit to Beijing and Shanghai in July 2016, during which the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to deepen bilateral collaboration in many sectors.

According to an announcement from Greece's General Secretariat of Information and Communication, the forum opens on May 14 with a high-level dialogue ensuing on May 15.

There will be a two-session round table discussion and a working lunch at the Yanqi Lake resort in Beijing.

The China-Greek friendship and cooperation improved in particular following China's active support for Greece during its debt crisis.

In 2016, China's Cosco (China Ocean Shipping Group Company) acquired a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority after having successfully managed to expand part of the port's container terminal in the past seven years.

Piraeus port, Greece's largest port, holds a key role in the Belt and Road Initiative as a main gateway in the European South.