On the morning of December 17, China International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce Fu Ziying and Italian Minister of Economic Development Geraci jointly presided over the 13th meeting of China-Italy Joint Commission for Economic and Trade Cooperation in Beijing. The two sides exchanged views on bilateral economic and trade relations, the Belt and Road cooperation, joint opposition to trade protectionism, China International import Expo and strengthening trade and investment.
Fu Ziying said that in recent years, China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership has developed in depth with frequent high-level exchanges between the two countries, bilateral cooperation mechanisms continuously improved, and fruitful cooperation results achieved in various fields. The economic structures of China and Italy are highly complementary and there are many common interests. In January-October 2018, the bilateral trade volume between China and Italy was US$45.15 billion, with an increase of 12.1% year on year. The scale of two-way investment has continued to expand. As of now, the total size of two-way investment is close to US$20 billion. Fu Ziying said that at the just-concluded first CIIE, Italian companies had an exhibition area of more than 5,000 square meters, being the second largest participating country in Europe. The CIIE will become a broad platform for fostering new growth points in bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
Fu Ziying put forward four suggestions on further developing the economic and trade relations between China and Italy. First, the pragmatic cooperation in various fields under the Belt and Road Initiative framework should be continuously promoted. Second, the role of the China-Italy Economic Cooperation Committee and the China-Italy Entrepreneur Committee as dual platform should be better played. Third, Italy is welcome to participate in the 2nd CIIE. Fourth, it is hoped that Italy will play an active role in the EU and the G7.
Geraci said that at present, Italy and China have strong economic complementarities, and bilateral economic and trade cooperation is progressing smoothly. Italy attaches great importance to the Belt and Road cooperation and regards the Belt and Road Initiative as a new platform for pragmatic cooperation between the two countries. It is willing to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in the five fields of ocean, land, aviation, aerospace and culture. The first CIIE received very positive feedback, and Italy is actively preparing for the second CIIE and hopes to become the guest country. At the same time, Italy hopes to further expand the scale of bilateral trade and attract Chinese investment.
The two sides also exchanged views on opposing trade protectionism and strengthening infrastructure and e-commerce cooperation.
