Updated

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang has arrived on an official three-day visit to Greece, which the Greek government hopes will lead to trade and investment deals that will boost the recession-plagued economy.

Greek state TV provided lengthy live coverage of Li's formal reception at Athens Airport by Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, with whom he was to meet for talks later Thursday.

Chinese and Greek delegations are due to sign bilateral cooperation agreements, while on Friday the two prime ministers will visit Athens' port of Piraeus — Greece's biggest — where China's Cosco has a concession to operate container terminals.

Li, who comes from a three-day visit to Britain, will then travel to the southern island of Crete, a popular destination for Chinese tourists.