MILAN, Oct. 14 (Class Editori) – "According to Chinese companies, there are huge opportunities in Italy. Italy is an important economy and a huge market with innovative products and services for us". These are the words of Song Wei, Deputy Director of the International Development Cooperation Institute of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC) who took the floor during the Belt and Road Initiative event organised by Class Editori, in collaboration with Xinhua Agency.
In detail, according to Song, there are five advantages for Chinese companies investing in Italy. "The first is about the geographic characteristic: Italy is in the middle of the Mediterranean. It is a transport hub and this allows to connect many consumers. The second is related to the fact that the Italian market has a great compatibility with ours. Moreover, Italy is an EU member and, therefore, we may sign free trade agreements not only with Italy but also with the entire Europe. Your country has a great innovation path behind itself. It has some of the best universities in Europe and worldwide. You own a leader technology in many fields".
The fourth advantage is that the Italian labor force "is of excellent quality" and even if the cost is not the lowest in the world is however lower than in other countries. Lastly, the Italian Government gives great importance to the arrival of capitals from abroad. International investors want to continue investing in Italy, Song has concluded.
There are two areas of interest. The first one is the development of large e-commerce platforms. From this point of view, Italy still lags a little behind, Song said. But it already represents a key territory for logistics hubs, also acting as a bridge between Europe and Africa. But, at the same time, investments in the development of connectivity infrastructure must be considered. Song talks about overcoming Industry 4.0 in order to move to Industry 5.0.
Italy, however, must "decide whether or not it wants to do business with China": this is the exhortation of Michele Geraci, already under-Secretary for Economic Development in the first Conte government and today back to be Professor of practice in Economic Policy at the University of Nottingham Ningbo. Italian SMEs, which "do not have a great power of aggregation", he concluded, "attend a political debate in Italy that takes the rug from under their feet, and do not feel protected". For this reason, last year the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries was signed.
(Source:Class Editori)
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