Insights丨Experts: Maintaining engagement important for Italy-China relations

By Chen Tianhao

(ECNS) -- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid an official visit to China from July 27 to 31, marking her first visit to China since she took office. During the exclusive interview with China News Network, Lorenzo Riccardi, Chairman of the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce (CICC), and Vincenzo Raffa, vice-president of the Italy-China Association of Business, shared their insights of Meloni’s visit and the future of Italy-China relations.

As both experts stress, 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership and the 700th anniversary of the death of Marco Polo, Riccardi holds that this is a special occasion to promote political, cultural and economic relations between the two countries, while Raffa notes that this visit by Italian Prime Minister is highly anticipated, aiming to restore and strengthen bilateral relations with China.

In addition, Riccardi says, “China is Italy's largest trading partner in Asia, while Italy is China's fourth-largest trading partner in the European Union (EU). So the economic cooperation between Italy and China is strong. According to official data, the bilateral trade volume has reached over 77 billion dollars.”

Despite political differences, maintaining engagement with China is important due to its economic significance to Italy, according to Raffa. He points out that the textile and pharmaceutical sectors may offer promising opportunities for trade.

Raffa highlights that in April, the China-Italy Business and Dialogue Forum was held in Verona, Italy, with the two sides agreeing to strengthen mutual trust between Chinese and Italian companies and advance the development of bilateral trade and investment cooperation. Riccardi notes that in early July, the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso visited China and met Chinese and Italian entrepreneurs to understand the business trends and new opportunities in this giant market.

This time during Meloni's visit to China, the two sides issued a 2024-2027 action plan to strengthen their comprehensive strategic partnership, covering areas of electric vehicles, new energy and artificial intelligence. Raffa also notes the significance of the automotive sector, stressing that attracting Chinese production to Italy could help protect employment in Italy and foster economic dialogue between Italy and China.

“Italy's relationship with China extends beyond economics, with people-to-people connections becoming increasingly significant in recent decades,” Raffa also notes, “Meloni's visit to China is significant not only for bilateral relations but also within the broader context of Europe-China dynamics.”

And in the future, both countries will also seek more opportunities in cooperation, according to Riccardi. “The CICC is promoting business forums and other events, organizing important roundtables with other players of the Italian system to show to the headquarters of the Italian enterprises the opportunities, the challenges, and also the way and new trends to invest in this giant market,” Riccardi concludes.