The “Italy 4.0” agenda aims to grasp all the market opportunities in China by creating added value
and by promoting Italy’s image as a vibrant and modern country. This was the content of the closing statement of the second informal “Italy System in China” meeting held in Shanghai on June 17 and 18. The meeting was organised by the Italian Embassy in partnership with the Consulate General, the Italian Chamber of Commerce, and the Italian Trade Agency (ITA). It was the follow-up to a series that began as an experiment last October at Beijing’s Yanqi Lake and became a best practice of economic diplomacy. Over 80 representatives of the worlds of business, academia and institutions travelled to Shanghai from all over China for the two-day session of debate and planning, with the aim of consolidating dialogue between the drivers of the “Italy System” (“Sistema Italia”) and of discussing the most effective ways of promoting Italy. “Among the most important results of the Shanghai meeting,” explained Ettore Sequi, the Italian Ambassador in Beijing, “was the agreement on a common agenda drawing inspiration from the ‘Road to 50’ strategy, which was launched by the Embassy in view of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and was based on China’s and Italy’s most complementary sectors of activity: healthcare, green technology, sustainable urbanisation, the agro-food sector and aviation; but also culture, science, and tourism”. The meeting closed with a commitment to draw up proposals for the new 2017-2019 three-year plan, outlining the cooperation projects of Italy and China in the upcoming years.
