As China continues to open up, more and
more domestic companies will choose to go global, and Italy is certainly a
popular trading partner. As the Chairman of the China-Italy Chamber of
Commerce, Davide knows a lot about the current situation. He mentioned that
Chinese companies have been investing in Italian technical industries including
motorcycles, automobile manufacturing, automobile design, marine engines and
agricultural machinery." There is a saying that Chinese investors have taken
away Italian technology. However, in fact these investments are win-win as they
help Italian local companies achieve stable employment and output." In a manner
of speaking, during the process of going global, Chinese companies not only
grow themselves but also bring tangible benefits to their partners.
Sino-Italian cooperation on the New Silk
Road
The "Belt and Road Initiative" is a new
chapter of the reform and opening up, allowing China to move into a new stage
on the road to openness, innovation and civilization. And Italy has always been
regarded as a bridge between European and Eastern countries. Whether for the "Silk Road Economic Belt" or the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", Italy is no
doubt among the most important and active nodes.
"In May 2017, the Belt and Road Forum for
International Cooperation was held in Beijing. President Xi Jinping hosted the
Leaders Roundtable Summit and invited many countries to participate. In the
European Union, I think Italy is quite representative and could be a leading
country of this initiative." Davide is full of confidence for the future of the
B&R Initiative." There are several ports in Italy that have already
established cooperation with China such as Genoa, Venice and Trieste. And along
with the developed Italian railway network, goods can be delivered to any
major European countries once they arrive at these ports."
Maritime transport is unobstructed, and so
is land transport. Davide said that thanks to the Sino-European freight train,
goods from inland areas in China like Chengdu and Chongqing can now be transported
directly by train to the northern part of Italy and then delivered to the whole
of Italy - Naples in the Southern part, for example - through its railway
network.
Looking back into the past, the trade
volume between China and Italy in 1970 was only 120 million dollars, due to
China's inward-looking foreign trade protection policy before 1978. After
reform and opening up, the import and export volume skyrocketed from 1981 to
1995, reaching over 5 billion dollars in 1995. Although there exist
fluctuations, driven by the B&R Initiative, the trade volume between China
and Italy has been soaring again these years. According to statistics from
Eurostat, in 2015,the first year when the initiative was launched, the
bilateral trade volume in goods was US$42.8 billion, of which Italy exported
US$11.5 billion to China and imported US$31.2 billion from China. In 2017, it
was US$47.4 billion, US$15.3 billion, and US$32.1 billion, an increase of
10.7%, 32.8% and 2.6% respectively compared to 2015.
What's more, in addition to benefiting from
the B&R initiative, Italy can make more contributions. "The network of the Italian
Chamber of Commerce is comprised of 74 chapters covering countries alongside
the Belt and Road such as Vietnam and India," said Davide. "We will ask local
chapters to select some representative projects in respective countries that
match the B&R initiative. Definitely we may face difficulties, but we can take
advantage of this network and cooperate with China to promote our technical
support projects for infrastructure construction including railways and ports."
From Central Asia to Russia, from Iran to Pakistan, the Sino-Italian
cooperation is expected to bring prosperity to more countries along the route.
Davide
Cucino's wishes for China's reform and opening up
"As the saying of Confucius goes, ‘success
lies in previous preparations.'It is not a sudden decision for a country to
reform and open up. China has a history of 5,000 years and had already
accumulated a profound foundation before China made changes. And that's why
China made it in 40 years." Davide said at the end of the interview. "The trend
of globalization is irreversible, and I firmly believe China will remain open
continuously."
Story by: Lu Yukun
Translated by: Tang Xinning
Cameraman:Fan Yicheng
