Eurasia invites Italy to bring know-how and technology

(AGI) Rome, June 10 - Asia welcomes not only Italy's investments, but also its experience, technology, and know-how: this was the invitation extended by the Asian representatives who attended the second day of the Eurasia Workshop, of which AGI is a media partner. "Our technology is not enough, we need to acquire your ability to innovate," said Zhang Zhe, country manager of China Construction Bank. The interest of Chinese investors is shifting more and more from traditional manufacturing business to e-commerce, hi-tech, brand development and consumer goods. "It is the result of macroeconomic reforms that are creating a new development model that is increasingly driven by consumption, and characterised by a growing middle class," said Richard Miratski of the Chinese rating agency Dagong. "Agribusiness and real estate are the other areas Asian investors have set their eyes on," he went on. "In the last decade Chinese investment has grown by 35 percent and Italy, after Britain, is the second European recipient of these flows." Central to the development of Asian countries is the construction of infrastructure. "Italy has become part of the Asian Development Bank promoted by China, and that means that our government wants to play an important role in the construction of roads and railways in Asia, thus creating opportunities for our businesses," said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary, Benedetto Della Vedova. The Asian Development Bank uses 80 percent of its loans to finance infrastructure, said the bank's Secretary General, Woo Chong Um, who recalled that "there are many development gaps that Asia must close before asserting its regional hegemony." Energy, transport, water and urban development: these are the areas on which to focus. "Connectivity and regional integration are the objectives of the 'One Belt One Road' strategy," the head of the World Economics and Politics Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences pointed out. "The Indonesian government is carrying out 225 projects involving the construction of dams, power plants and railways until 2019," said the Indonesian Vice Minister of Infrastructure, Ridwan Djamaluddin. "Only a quarter of these are funded by our government, so we are looking for public and private partners." In support of Italian companies investing in China, the managing director of Alibaba Italy, Spain and Portugal, Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio, presented opportunities offered by the e-commerce giant, which is also referred to as "the gateway to the Chinese market." (AGI) . .