Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said here that the Italian
government has adopted a new set of political, economic and
cultural strategies in dealing with China, in an effort to shape
Italy into Europe's gateway to the East.
Prodi, who will visit China on Sept. 13-18 with a grand
delegation of political and business officials, revealed the move
during an exclusive interview with Chinese media based in Italy on
Monday.
Terming his Chinese trip as "particularly important," Prodi said
that during the trip, he is going to bring to China a set of
brand-new political, economic and cultural strategies his
government has adopted towards China.
"China is a friend of Italy, and we hope Italy will further
become Europe's gateway to the East," said Prodi, adding his
delegation "is the biggest institutional and business mission ever
organized by Italy to China."
The premier will be accompanied by four ministers, one junior
minister and three undersecretaries plus representatives of 12 of
Italy's 20 regions and over 700 business leaders.
Asked about his personal feelings about the trip, the
center-left leader called himself as an old friend of the Chinese
people, and said he rejoiced at the opportunity by which he would
be able to get a more comprehensive glimpse of China, a country
which, with its robust growth and dynamic development in recent
years, has become one of the world's most important players.
Prodi, once an economist, viewed China's growth rate as
stunning, but he also expressed the hope that the upward trend
would be sustained, which would in turn promote the development of
the world as a whole.
Through the development of science and technology and political
cooperation, China's rapid growth would contribute to a more
balanced development of the world, Prodi said.
On the Italy-China economic and trade ties, Prodi said although
some disputes existed between the two sides, the overall relations
were developing in a positive direction, with both sides sharing a
common goal of raising bilateral trade volume to a higher
level.
Italy has established many joint ventures in China, and it hoped
its Chinese counterparts could invest more in Italy, Prodi said,
adding that Italy would help promote the development of the
Europe-China economic and trade relations by participating in
China's historic economic construction.
On the Europe-China relations, the former European Commission
chief said China has become the European Union (EU)'s second
largest trading partner, and also cooperated with the EU in some
other areas.
Dialogue between the two sides should be further enhanced to
facilitate the settlement of some sensitive issues, like human
rights and weapons embargo, he added.
During his China tour, Prodi will make five stops at the cities
of Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing. In Beijing,
he will hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao on various issues of common
concern.
(Xinhua News Agency September 12, 2006)
