Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, will receive the Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Wentao, in Venice today. Together they will attend an event commemorating the figure of Marco Polo, which will take place at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice on the morning of 11 April, local time.
In the afternoon, the two Ministers will go to Verona to co-chair the Italy-China Joint Economic Committee (CEM) held at Palazzo della Prefettura (Palazzo del Potestà). At the end of the meeting, at about 6 p.m., Minister Tajani will hold a press conference.
On the morning of 12 April, Minister Tajani and Minister Wang will open the proceedings of the Italy-China Business and Dialogue Forum held at Veronafiere.
“On the 20th anniversary of the Global Strategic Partnership between Italy and China, established in 2004, and the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo’s death, we wish to inaugurate a new chapter in relations between our two countries and invest in bilateral partnerships,” said Tajani, adding that “we will welcome the Chinese delegation in a highly industrial and export-oriented territory, which also represents the solidity of the historical and cultural relations between Italy and China”.
The Italy-China Joint Economic Committee (CEM) is the main instrument for economic and trade cooperation with China and is one of the dialogue mechanisms of the Global Strategic Partnership established in 2004. Since Minister Tajani’s visit to Beijing last September, the CEM is the first major high-level political appointment with China in 2024.
The Business and Dialogue Forum, held alongside the Joint Economic Committee, aims to foster discussion and cooperation in priority sectors for economic and trade collaboration such as the agro-industry, e-commerce, investment, pharmaceutical and biomedical sectors. In addition to Minister Tajani and Minister Wang, the event will be attended by representatives of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), Confindustria and their Chinese counterparts (members of the Business Forum Technical Secretariat), as well as representatives of the internationalisation hub (SACE, SIMEST, CDP) and of selected Italian and Chinese companies.
