China – Italy, Xi Jinping to Giorgia Meloni: Our Countries Present Complementary Industrial Advantages and Opportunities

Chinese President Xi Jinping received Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday, July 29, at the Diaoyutai State Residence in Beijing to discuss the opportunities that increased economic and trade cooperation can offer the two countries. As the Chinese leader stated, “China and Italy have complementary industrial advantages and opportunities for each other: both countries should adhere to the principles of openness and cooperation.” Xi Jinping urged Italy to practice “open cooperation” in all supply chains around the world to “achieve win-win development.”

Despite changes in the international panorama, China wants to promote “friendship between the two peoples” because “the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations is in the common interests of the two countries and their peoples.” Therefore, China is willing to work with Italy to promote cooperation in various strategic sectors ranging from trade to investment, industrial production, scientific and technological innovation. The Chinese President also said that cooperation between the two countries should go beyond bilateral trade: China and Italy can work as true partners in third markets in emerging sectors, such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence. “China welcomes Italian companies willing to invest in the Chinese market,” Xi Jinping said. He emphasized that “Beijing also hopes for a fair, transparent, safe, and non-discriminatory Italian commercial environment for Chinese companies.”

For her part, Meloni stressed that “China is inevitably a very important interlocutor in an international environment characterized by ever-increasing instability.” Italy and China should think together about how to guarantee stability, peace, and free trade. “The world around us is changing, the rules-based international system is being challenged, new technologies are emerging, impacting and could have incredible results on the future of our societies,” Meloni said, also referring to issues related to artificial intelligence.

The Italian Prime Minister emphasized that Rome has a firm intention to “improve the work done in bilateral relations” and “explore new forms of cooperation,” but there is also a need to “balance trade relations between Italy and China.”

Meloni and Xi Jinping discussed the prospects for implementing “the three-year Italy-China action plan” adopted on Sunday, July 28, following Meloni’s talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. In the context of growing trade tensions between Beijing and Brussels, Meloni reminded that Italy can play an important role in normalizing relations between China and the European Union.

The Italian head of government will end the third day of her visit to Beijing with a dinner from the Chinese leader.