Residents in the Italian capital Rome believe there are a whole host of untapped opportunities for businesses to exploit in the vast Chinese market, and hope to see enhanced cooperation between Italy and China across various sectors.
Relations between China and Europe have been in the spotlight this week as Chinese President Xi Jinping made state visits to France, Serbia and Hungary, with observers in neighboring countries watching developments closely.
Silvia Menegazzi, an assistant professor at the Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome, said that Xi's visits are of great significance to the overall development of China-Europe relations, noting the strong level of cooperation the country has formed with the European nations in question.
"France is a very important country with regards to EU-China relations. The other two countries are also important in order to understand how China and Europe manage their relations. China had a long-term cooperation with countries in the Baltic. And therefore, I believe that these three countries are quite strategic for the context of relations," she said.
Menegazzi also highlighted how China's relations with the EU and Italy are interconnected, and signaled how China remains a key partner for Italy from an economic perspective.
"For Italy, China remains a very important country. Of course, Italy's relations with China are also affected by China-EU relations at the same time, but I would say that, particularly from an economic point of view, China remains a key country for Italy," she said.
Students in Rome also shared their views on the importance of cooperation between Italy and China, stressing their belief that Italian businesses should look to exploit all the opportunities available.
"In terms of demographics and domestic demand, China is a country that has a lot to offer. So, it is definitely an opportunity for Italy to invest more heavily in innovative sectors through collaborations, partnerships and joint ventures. That is, in order to better exploit the opportunities that China offers in terms of resources and knowledge the country possesses, and so on, so I definitely believe that China is an opportunity for Italy," said Carlo Alberto Tonatto, a student.
"China and Italy have a lot of contracts between fashion brands because we have some industry and consumer [interests] in China. Also, in Italy, some furnishers and retailers [are from] China," said Domitille Cosson, another student.
Italian residents hope more cooperation opportunities with China can be exploited
