Relations between Italy and China are becoming, “increasingly ambitious and increasingly concrete.” This in a nutshell is how Italian Ambassador to Beijing Ettore Sequi and Liu Haixing, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, with responsibility for Europe, agreed to define the status of the relations between the two countries at their recent meeting. Minister Haixing expressed satisfaction over the extraordinary number of visits by representatives of Italy’s institutions to China in 2015, the 45th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations. He also mentioned the two much appreciated missions led by Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni in April and September, the visit in November to the sixth China-Italy Innovation Forum by Minister of Education, Universities and Research Stefania Giannini, and that of Senate President Pietro Grasso in December.
Forty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations
Mr Sequi and Mr Liu also discussed forthcoming bilateral talks, particularly those on the preparation for the seventh session of the Italy-China Government Committee in Rome during 2016, co-chaired by the two foreign ministers, and on key areas of multilateral cooperation, beginning with the UN and the G20. They also discussed the overarching theme of the “Road to 50” approaching the year 2020, the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations and the conclusion of China’s 13th economic development plan.
