Anniversary highlights the strength of relations

This year is of special significance in the history of China-Italy relations, according to experts and scholars at a recent seminar.

At the launch event of the Annual Development Report of Italy (2023-2024) and the seminar on pragmatic cooperation between China and Italy with the background of 20 years of comprehensive strategic partnership held in Beijing on July 23, Feng Zhongping, director of the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the relationship between China and Italy, as well as between China and Europe, is essentially complementary and mutually beneficial.

Europe is an important trade partner for China, with the total trade volume between the two sides remaining at a high level for a long period of time. China and Europe are important partners not only in economy and trade, but also in areas such as climate change, biodiversity protection and United Nations reform, he said.

Yao Zhizhong, director of the International Cooperation Bureau of CASS, said that China and Italy are both major political and economic powers and outstanding representatives of Eastern and Western civilizations, each with a long history and strong cultural traditions. The two countries have broad prospects for cooperation in various fields.

Federico Roberto Antonelli, cultural counselor of the Italian embassy in China, noted that cultural exchanges are the bridge and foundation of bilateral relations. "In recent years, the demand for humanity and academic exchanges between China and Italy has been growing continuously."

The report is the fruit of the joint efforts of Chinese and Italian scholars and a testament to the cultural exchanges between the two sides, he said. Marco Polo (1254-1324), a Venetian merchant and explorer who traveled to China during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), is a symbol of the openness and inclusiveness of Chinese and Italian civilizations and friendly exchanges between the two countries.

The two countries should continue to promote cultural exchanges and economic and trade cooperation, carrying forward the pioneering spirit of Marco Polo and jointly writing a new chapter in the development of China-Italy relations, he said.

The Annual Development Report of Italy (2023-2024) consists of a general report, sub-reports, special topics and appendices, with a total of 13 chapters. It outlines Italy's development in 2023 from political, economic, social and diplomatic, and China-Italy relations perspectives, providing a review, analysis and outlook on the development of various fields in Italy and China-Italy relations. The report notes that 2024, the 20th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Italy, is expected to be an important year for strengthening cooperation between the two countries.

Regarding China-Italy relations, the report emphasizes that the fundamentals of economic complementarity and cultural mutual appreciation between the two countries have not changed, and there is a common desire to strengthen pragmatic cooperation. As long as both sides continue to maintain a pragmatic and open attitude, strengthen communication, and seek common ground while reserving differences, there is still a broad space for mutual benefit and win-win cooperation in various fields.

It states that space technology is one of the key areas of China-Italy scientific and technological cooperation, with remarkable achievements. The cooperation between China and Italy in the space field has a history of several decades, and the space agencies of the two countries are also promoting exchanges between astronauts.

The report also highlights that in recent years, cooperation between China and Italy in the field of cultural heritage has been continuously deepened, with increasingly close exchanges between professionals from both sides, and a series of mutual assistance cooperation projects have been carried out.

Looking ahead, China and Italy have advantages in tapping into the value of their cultural heritage through technological cooperation and building new cultural heritage governance models.

Sun Yanhong, chief editor of the report and a researcher at the Institute of European Studies at CASS, believes that in the context of the accelerated evolution of the international landscape, strengthening dialogue and pragmatic cooperation is more urgent than ever to promote their economic growth, transformation and upgrading, and to address global challenges.