G20 boosted Italy-China cooperation, says Chinese diplomat

(AGI) Rome, Sept 14 - The G20 summit in Hangzhou was a new starting point for cooperation between Italy and China. This was affirmed at the "G20 in Hanghzou and Sino-Italian Cooperation" ("Il G20 di Hangzhou e la cooperazione sino-italiana") symposium organised by the Chinese Embassy in Rome. Following the summit that brought world leaders to the eastern Chinese city on Sept. 4 and 5, Italy and China "are ready to strenghthen their strategic partnership", affirmed China's Ambassador to Italy, Li Ruiyu. The summit coincided with a "key" moment for relations between the two countries, he added. The desire to increase cooperation was central to the bilateral meeting between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The outcome, Ambassador Li believes, will be Italy's participation in China's "One belt one road" strategy, starting with "collaboration on ports and the joint promotion of third-country markets". There will be more to follow. "Prime Minister Renzi visited the headquarters of Alibaba and took part in the opening of an exclusive sales channel for Italian wines on the Tianmao platform. We want to continue efforts towards the vigorous promotion of commercial, financial, and investment cooperation." And yet, Ambassador Li said, the sector that offers the most possibilities for greater cooperation is technological innovation. "The 7th Sino-Italian Week of Innovation will take place soon. More than 100 Chinese businesses and institutions will participate in the event," making it an unique chance to develop contacts and promote innovation "in sectors concerned by our two countries' commercial relations, starting with biomedecine", he noted. Ambassador Li concluded by emphasising the importance of strengthening cooperation within the framework of multilateral settings such as the G20, World Trade Organization, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. (AGI). .