Italy and China want to "open a new chapter" in relations and invest in joint partnerships, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said before a bilateral business dialogue forum in the northeast city of Verona that he is addressing with Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao on Thursday.
"On the 20th anniversary of the Global Strategic Partnership between Italy and China, established in 2004, and the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo’s death, we wish to open a new chapter in relations between our two countries and invest in bilateral partnerships," a foreign ministry statement cited Tajani as saying.
“We will welcome the Chinese delegation in a highly industrial and export-oriented area of Italy, which also represents the solidity of historical and cultural relations between Italy and China”, Tajani added.
Representatives from Italy's trade agency (ICE), from its main private industrial association Confindustria and their Chinese counterparts are set to speak at the forum, which aims to boost collaboration in priority sectors including agritech, e-commerce, investment, pharmaceutical and biomedical, the statement said.
Representatives from Italy's internationalisation 'hub' - state investment agencies SACE, SIMEST and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti - and from Italian and Chinese companies will also take the floor at the forum, said the statement.
Earlier on Thursday, Wang was set to attend an event at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice to celebrate famed traveller Marco Polo - who brought the concept of paper money to the lagoon city on his return from China in the late 13th century.
The Ca’ Foscari event will also focus on Italy-China relations, the statement said.
Upon arriving in Verona from Venice, Tajani and Wang were due to take part in an Italy-China Joint Economic Committee meeting, according to the statement.
The Italy-China Joint Economic Committee is the main instrument for Italy's economic and trade cooperation with China and is one of the Global Strategic Partnership's dialogue mechanisms, the statement noted.
