Tsipras has to tread fine line to revive Greece

But is what Tsipras advocates wrong? Does a country in recession need to take austerity measures? Tsipras has to remember that Greece also has a high fiscal debt level, and the Greek economy cannot develop by just issuing more government bonds.

Tsipras and his team will have to invest a lot of energy and time in negotiating with Brussels and the Bretton Woods organizations to reach compromises on debt payments. The most important, however, is restoring social and economic dynamics in Greece.

Greece used to have industries, including a thriving auto-manufacturing sector and factories processing farm products. But they have either closed down or shifted to other countries. The dignity of a country, as a young shopkeeper in Athens said, is also about producing its own goods. But for that, a country needs to attract capital and improve the efficiency of state assets.

Tsipras' predecessor Antonis Samaras had announced massive privatization measures. And even last week, he attended a ceremony in Piraeus for the extension of Chinese company COSCO's operations. But Tsipras's economic line is against privatization and foreign investment.

Will Tsipras's economic measures succeed in the current global situation? Tsipras needs to think pragmatically, which would allow him to relax the austerity measures as well as restore the economic and social dynamics of Greece.

Greece has everything that it takes to be a competitive economy. But it has to choose the middle path - as opposed to the far right and far left - to ensure economic development, as well as eliminate political uncertainties.

The author is China Daily chief correspondent in Brussels. Contact the writer at fujing@chinadaily.com.cn