ROME - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday Italy is willing to work closely with China to boost the overall development of cooperation between the two countries.

Berlusconi made this remark when meeting with Wang Gang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and also vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The further development of such mutual-benefit cooperation will bring more benefits to the peoples of the two countries, Berlusconi said.

Wang said that both China and Italy are countries with a long history and that both have made significant contributions to world civilization.

China is willing to work together with Italy to strengthen mutual trust in politics, expand pragmatic cooperation and become good friends and partners that respect each other, promote each other and grow together to constantly promote the overall strategic partnership between the two countries, he said.

On Wednesday, Wang also met respectively with Vannino Chiti, vice president of the Italian Senate, and Rosy Bindi, vice president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.

Wang said that the CPPCC attaches great importance to sharing experiences with Italy's Senate and Chamber of Deputies in an effort to further advance relations between the two countries.

Both Chiti and Bindi said they wanted to intensify exchanges and cooperation with the CPPCC and learn from each other. This would add fresh impetus to the traditional friendship and friendly relations between Italy and China, they said.

In addition, Wang met with representatives of Italy's Economic and Social Council on Wednesday.

Italy is the last stop of Wang's four-nation tour, which also took him to Algeria, Switzerland and Iceland.