Roundup: Chinese, Italian companies celebrate 45 years of culture-driven economic ties

The 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Italy, celebrated here in Milan earlier this week, was an occasion for many Chinese and Italian firms to take stock of their success, and exchange views and suggestions for further common progress.

Coscon Italy, which acts as general agent in Italy for Coscon Shanghai, was among the first joint ventures created between an Italian private company -- Fratelli Cosulich, one of the oldest Italian shipping companies -- and a multinational group in China.

"Our experience in China started early in 1980. I have a very strong memory of this adventure which has marked a very big part of my life," Coscon Italy CEO Augusto Cosulich told Xinhua in an interview on the sidelines of a forum organized by the Italy-China Chamber of Commerce.

The Milan-based association was founded a month before the date of establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Italy on Nov. 6, 1970. In recent times, it has extended its attention from Italian companies wanting to invest in China to Chinese companies wanting to invest in Italy.

"I have learnt a lot from China and we have always had an idyllic relation with our Chinese partners," Cosulich went on saying. His suggestion for those who want to collaborate with Chinese people was "have a lot of patience and perseverance, and most importantly behave well in return for their trust."

Coscon Italy was among the many Chinese and Italian companies awarded by the Italy-China Chamber of Commerce for their outstanding contribution to the relations between the two countries.

Another one was Ruifeng Travel, whose CEO Hu Rongfeng, also known as Daniele Hu, explained to Xinhua in Italian the value of being intercultural. "Italy boasts the greatest number of World Heritage Sites. We could live on tourism in Italy, but unfortunately not all the entrepreneurs have this vision or the will and courage to invest in tourism," Hu said.

He added that his job is very difficult, but also full of satisfaction. "I am going to become father in January, and hope that my son will be willing to continue my work one day. We are a family-run company, and he would be the third generation," he said.

Guala Closures operates in a completely different sector, that of the production of closures for beverages, food and pharmaceuticals, but treasures at the same way the Sino-Italian collaboration. "For 20 years I have been traveling to China quite often," said Paolino Cartasegna, the group's sales director, at the forum.

"When we first started selling and then producing our closures in China, many people asked me the reason of this move. Today we are a multinational leader in our field, and this is also thanks to China," he said, wishing that Guala Closures will see new alliances with the Asian country in future years.

At the same way, many Chinese groups have taken advantage from their relation with Italy. China's e-commerce giant Alibaba opened an office in Milan just a few weeks ago. "Our initial mission is to bring Italian companies into our platform," Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio, Alibaba country manager in Italy, explained. The fact that Alibaba chose Italy as its first "ambassador" country abroad was not by chance, but due to the attractiveness of the Made in Italy, he noted.

China's telecommunication group Huawei currently boasts 700 employees in Italy, of which as many as 85 percent are Italian nationals, said Zheng Wei, Deputy Managing Director of Huawei Technologies Italia. "Italy is a strategic market for Huawei, which will continue to invest in research and development here," he said.

Zhejiang Rifa Precision Machinery, a subsidiary of Rifa holding group, has recently acquired two Italian companies, which contributed to the group's recent successes, said Wang Hong, CEO and Managing Director of Colgar International S.r.l.

China has the "Made in China 2025" strategy to turn from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power, and Italy has launched the "Italy 2040" project to become a leader in technologies for human beings and sustainability, Wang noted. The complementarity between the two countries, he highlighted, can help lift their win-win collaboration to a new level. Enditem