The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), founded in 1837, is one of Greece’s oldest universities, with eight schools and 33 faculties offering programs in medicine, law, sciences, humanities, and engineering. The university maintains 800 bilateral agreements with institutions in 63 countries, including partnerships with universities in Asia, particularly China. In September 2025, NKUA hosted an international conference on Greek-Chinese philosophical dialogue, a China-led initiative for cultural diplomacy between Greece and China. The event was attended by Li Xi (李希), a member of the CCP’s Politburo Standing Committee, signaling Beijing’s strong interest in strengthening ties with Greece. The conference strongly emphasized Greece and China as ancient Western and Eastern civilizations, in line with the CCP’s more recent deployment of civilization-related political discourse, including through its Global Civilization Initiative.