ROME: Italian media and officials have paid close attention to China’s economy and its economic transition, seeing opportunities to increase its market share in China. Amid the seventh joint session of the China-Italy Governmental Committee and the third meeting of Sino-Italian businessmen association, China again became the media reports’ highlight. Leading business daily Il Sole 24 Ore predicted on Friday that Italian small and medium-sized enterprises might find growth chances in the Chinese market.
“China is a crucial market for our firms,” Licia Mattioli, vice president of Italy’s top business association Confindustria, was quoted as saying. “China is promoting its internal reforms, and it is therefore crucial to get to know the profound changes of the Chinese economy,” the daily reported.
Italian Ambassador to China Ettore Francesco Sequi commented that the Chinese economy was facing “an epoch-making transition, accompanied by an extraordinary expansion of the middle class.” “With an average of 250 million affluent citizens estimated in 2022, China will become the world’s largest market for consumer goods,” he told the business daily.
“This phase provides a unique opportunity for our entrepreneurial system, which does not lack the ability to adjust to the Chinese context,” the ambassador said. Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told the plenary session that “the visible increase of Chinese investments in Italy in the last two years is a tangible proof of China’s confidence in the perspectives of our economy, and in our reform agenda.”
