Exclusive: Italy can be perfect gateway for third-country markets for Chinese companies, says council head

Italy can be the perfect gateway for third-country markets for Chinese companies, Mario Boselli, president of the Italy China Council Foundation (ICCF), told the Global Times in an interview ahead of the visit to China of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Meloni will visit China from July 27 to 31, China's Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday. This is Meloni's first trip to China since taking office, according to media reports.

Her visit to China represents a further step toward the thawing of relations between our two countries, according to the council head.

Meloni's visit was preceded by visits to China by a number of Italian officials, and Meloni's China visit is in pursuit of a goal: Italy is among the best strategic players for Beijing in Europe, and "having an active engagement with us also means holding the key to a better relationship with the EU," Boselli said.
The key points of the visit are the reassessment of the need for more balanced bilateral trade, offering more opportunities to export Italian products to China, and the promotion of Italy as an ideal location for Chinese investment, especially in areas such as new-energy products and vehicles, among others, Boselli said.

"Italy can be the perfect gateway for third-country markets [for Chinese companies], not only European but also Mediterranean markets. This is why our peninsula is also the perfect location for greenfield investments by Chinese companies," Boselli noted.

In the first half of this year, bilateral trade stood at $35.94 billion, down 1.3 percent year-on-year, data from the General Administration of Customs of China showed. Italian exports to China reached $13.03 billion, down 3.6 percent.

A survey conducted by the ICCF found that 34 percent of the Italian companies in China that were interviewed perceived an improvement in the business environment. Also, 47 percent had a positive outlook and 68 percent said that they planned further expansion in China in the next two years.

Responding to the European Commission's imposition of provisional tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) and the ongoing probe, Boselli noted that the improvement and efficiency of high-tech products achieved by China is a fact that no one can dispute, and that China is investing in research and development (R&D) of new products and solutions, and that its products are being exported to Europe in greater numbers.

"China must be identified by the EU as one of the most important innovators in the world, and innovation is the key that will change the way the whole world looks at China," said Boselli, the ICCF president.

Building R&D centers and factories in Europe together could be a solution to address the EU's concerns, he said.

"There is also a need for a more positive attitude on the part of the EU to recognize China's achievements and its role as a major player in the international political and economic environment," Boselli said.

China's economy grew 5 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2024.

Boselli said that while the situation in the first six months was not particularly bright, "we all know that China is used to achieving its results and except for 2020, annus horribilis for the whole world, it has always done so."

"We are convinced that it is a matter of time: China will soon recover and the 5 percent growth target will be reached in 2024. We must have confidence, because the results will come," Boselli said.