Italy has called for more Chinese investment, saying it will benefit both countries.
Giancarlo Innocenzi Botti, head of Invitalia which operates on behalf of the Italian government to attract investment and promote business development, said, "We consider China a priority target, and think economic ties between the two countries must significantly increase."
In the past two years, Botti said, Invitalia has helped about 15 big Chinese companies such as ICBC and Huawei establish their business in Italy, serving as a driver for small- and medium-sized companies.
"Chinese investments in Italy have increasingly grown in the past years, especially in the automotive, renewable energies, logistics and machinery sectors," he said.
He also noted that the ongoing debt crisis in his country has not affected bilateral ties in the least, as the fundamentals of the Italian economy, including the banking system and the large amount of private savings, continue to be very solid.
"However, part of the Chinese business community still does not know the big potential investment opportunities offered by Italy, and therefore Invitalia is strengthening its efforts in providing free support for investors who want to start or expand their business," he said.
"For example, though the Italian legal and fiscal systems are quite complex, our government has launched a series of concrete projects for Chinese investors, such as financial incentives aimed at fostering implementation of large industrial investments in certain regions of the country," Botti said.
Other services, he said, include so-called "after care" assistance, as "we want to attract Chinese investors but especially make them happily remain here."
For example, the agency has also built networks and agreements with Chinese institutional and business partners at a national level, so as to organize workshops and B2B meetings, as well as site visits in Italy, Botti said.
"In fact, Italy is much more similar to China than to some other European countries," he said, adding that improving mutual knowledge is key to creating a favorable business environment.
"There are many reasons why Chinese companies should invest more in Italy, and the first of all is its strategic position in the Mediterranean Sea," he said.
"In fact, lying at the main crossway linking Europe to North Africa and the Balkans, Italy is the gateway to key markets with over 800 million consumers," Botti said.
Second, he said, the Italian economy is based on an "incomparably precious" production network of millions of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a strong entrepreneurial and innovation culture, which produce world-famous high-quality products.
Especially for these companies, building partnerships with Chinese counterparts is the best way to gain easier access to the Chinese market and "win-win" prospects, he said.
On the one hand, Chinese firms can benefit from the Italian millinery tradition of creative handiwork and highly specialized technology, while on the other hand, Italian firms can enhance their competitiveness by absorbing more funds to sustain development and innovation.
The Invitalia president also expressed the hope that Chinese investors start exploring certain highly advanced niche sectors of Italy's SMEs, such as micromechanics, biomechanics and biomedicine.
"For too many years, Italians have looked at China as a menace and not as an opportunity, as they feared to be somehow deprived of their know-how," he said.
"But now it is clear to everybody that the Chinese market -- with its hundreds of millions of new rich people -- is the most important and interesting in the world," Botti said.
"And it is also clear that the Italian patrimony of excellence, originated from the Renaissance and its geniuses such as Leonardo da Vinci, will continue to be unique in the world, and even more well-known also thanks to Chinese friends able to build mutually beneficial partnerships," he said.(Source: Xinhua)