ATHENS, July 14 -- Greek media on Monday praised Chinese President Xi Jinping's message of support to Greece during a stopover on the southeastern Greek island of Rhodes on his way to Latin America for summit meetings and state visits.

Xi held talks on Sunday with Greek President Karolos Papoulias and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who accompanied him on a tour of the Medieval Old Town of Rhodes.

Local media closely followed up the stopover visit and gave an extensive coverage of the meetings. Most newspapers and electronic media reproduced a report by Greek national news agency AMNA, which highlighted the warm climate of the talks and Xi's statements on bilateral relations.

They welcomed Xi's remarks that China attaches great importance to its ties with Greece, saying the Chinese president hopes to open a new era for the two countries' cooperation.

"The Chinese president sent a message of support to Greece and Greek tourism," leading news portal in.gr said in a report on the visit.

"New Era in China-Greece Ties" was the title of a main article in the daily Kathimerini newspaper, while the Ethnos newspaper published a story under the title "Our Relationship with China is Strategic," a phrase used repeatedly by Samaras.

In his meeting with Xi, Samaras expressed Greece's gratitude to the Chinese leadership and people for their support during the economic crisis that hit Europe in recent years.

"Although the stopover is a private visit, the two leaders discussed matters of financial cooperation. The visit also has a symbolic value, as it illustrates the good relations between the two countries and underlines China's intention to carry on developing a financial relationship with Greece," daily newspaper Vima said in an article.

"Greece has invested a lot in developing ties with China in an effort to boost its economy and move on from a crippling recession. China on the other hand views Greece as a commercial gateway to Europe and Africa," the article added.

It was the second visit by a Chinese leader to the European country within a month. During Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Greece on June 19-21, the two countries reached a broad consensus on deepening their bilateral ties.

In Latin America, Xi is set to pay state visits to Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba. He will also attend the 6th Summit of the five BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and the China-Latin America and the Caribbean Summit in Brazil.