Chinese senior official Li Xi met with Italian leaders this week to deepen strategic ties, marking the 20th anniversary of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership and advancing cooperation in areas such as green energy and digital technology.
Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, met with Italy's Senate President Ignazio La Russa, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Rome during his visit from Wednesday to Saturday at the invitation of the Italian Senate.
During the meetings, Li highlighted the enduring ties between China and Italy, and called on the two sides to advance the consensus reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in July.
Li emphasized cooperation through the "China-Italy Action Plan", which aimed at enhancing political trust and collaboration in existing and emerging sectors like green energy, the digital economy, and artificial intelligence. He also highlighted the importance of enhancing people-to-people exchanges and multilateral coordination in multilateral arenas such as the United Nations and Group of 20 (G20) to elevate China-Italy relations. China and Europe share extensive common interests in upholding multilateralism, addressing climate change, and promoting global economic recovery, Li said, noting that China advocates resolving relevant economic and trade issues through consultation based on the principles of pragmatism and balance. He urged the Italian side to view China-Europe economic and trade relations "with an open attitude and a long-term perspective," and play a constructive role in China-Europe consultations and negotiations.
China is willing to work together with Italy and other European countries to promote the sound and steady development of China-Europe relations, he noted.
Li also introduced the successes of China's anti-corruption campaign, which has bolstered public trust in the Party. China will continue to pursue a unique approach to anti-corruption, leveraging institutional and legal strengths to create a system where officials "do not dare, cannot, and do not want to engage in corruption", achieving both preventive and comprehensive governance, he said.
China is committed to sharing governance insights and enhancing anti-corruption cooperation with other countries, including Italy, Li noted.
La Russa spoke highly of the historic friendship between Italy and China, praising the CPC's achievements in Party-building and China's modernization, affirming Italy's readiness to enhance exchanges between legislative bodies and political parties with China. Tajani emphasized China's role as a vital economic partner, noting that Italy hopes to strengthen economic and trade exchanges with China, fostering a balanced and mutually beneficial relationship. He reiterated Italy's commitment to open economic policies and to actively working towards resolving trade frictions between the European Union and China through negotiations.
Italy also seeks to work with China to promote global peace and stability amid today's challenges, he noted.
During his visit, Li also traveled to Venice to attend a cultural exchange event titled "Be a Contemporary Marco Polo, Build a New Bridge of Friendship", commemorating the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's passing.
Senior Chinese official vows to further ties with Italy
