East West communication, A new chapter of Sino Italian friendship

 

 

I am very glad to pay a state visit to the Italian Republic at the invitation of President matarera at the time of renewal. In 2011, I attended the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy in Rome, and then crossed Sardinia in 2016. I am deeply impressed by Italy's lifestyle and industrial philosophy, which combines ancient and modern, classic and innovative. I am going to set foot on this beautiful country again. I feel very cordial to meet my warm Italian friends.

 

China and Italy are outstanding representatives of the eastern and Western civilizations, leaving a heavy chapter in the history of human civilization. As the birthplace of ancient Roman civilization and the cradle of the Renaissance, Italy's magnificent historical sites and masterpieces of literature and art are well known in China. The friendly exchanges between the two great civilizations of China and Italy have a long history. As early as 2000 years ago, the ancient Silk Road linked China and ancient Rome thousands of miles away. The Han Dynasty sent an emissary Gan Ying to look for "Daqin". Virgil, an ancient Roman poet, and pomponius, a geographer, mentioned "the kingdom of silk" many times. Marco Polo's travels set off the first "China fever" in western history. Marco Polo became the forerunner of cultural exchange between the East and the west, followed by generations of friendly envoys.
 

In the contemporary era, along with the footprints of friendly exchanges between the ancients, Sino Italian relations have been constantly glowing with new vitality. In 1970, the people's Republic of China established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Italy. In 2020, the two countries will usher in the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, no matter how the international situation changes, the two countries have always maintained mutual trust and close cooperation, setting an example of mutual benefit and win-win situation in different social systems, cultural backgrounds and development stages. The strong traditional friendship between China and Italy has been renewed for a long time and has become a solid pillar for the rapid and stable development of bilateral relations.

 

——The friendship between China and Italy is rooted in profound historical accumulation. The two thousand year history of exchanges has fostered a common concept of mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual understanding between China and Italy, which has become the guarantee for the long-term and continuous consolidation of the traditional friendship between the two countries. Facing the changes and challenges in today's world, the two countries have learned valuable experience from the vicissitudes of history, and jointly envisioned a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation, and a beautiful vision of building a community of shared future for mankind.
 

——The friendship between China and Italy is condensed in deep strategic mutual trust. The leaders of the two countries insist on looking at and developing bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective. Since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries in 2004, the two sides have played a leading and promoting role in high-level exchanges, mutual understanding and firm support on issues related to each other's core interests and major concerns, which has become a solid backing for the long-term and stable development of China Italy relations.

 

——The friendship between China and Italy is embodied in rich practical cooperation. China and Italy are important trade and investment partners of each other, and the interests of the two countries are deeply blended. In 2018, the bilateral trade volume exceeded US $50 billion, and the cumulative two-way investment exceeded US $20 billion. "Made in Italy" is a synonym for high-quality products. Italian fashion and furniture are popular with Chinese consumers. Pizza and tiramisu are popular among teenagers. Good news of bilateral cooperation in satellite, manned space and other fields have been reported frequently. Activities such as Sino Italian science and technology innovation cooperation week, joint police patrol and football training have been warmly welcomed by the two peoples.
 

——Sino Italian friendship is inherited through close cultural exchanges. The Chinese and Italian people are very interested in studying each other's culture. A Chinese professor began to translate Dante's Divine Comedy in the age of ancient rarity. It took 18 years to translate Dante's Divine Comedy and finally completed it on his deathbed. Italian sinologists emerge one after another, building a bridge for China EU exchanges. From Wei kuangguo, who wrote the first Chinese grammar book in the west, to bezolin and Masini, who wrote Italy and China, helped the "Sinology fever" in the Apennine peninsula.
 

Moravia, a famous Italian writer, wrote: "friendship is not an accidental choice, but a result of common aspiration." Today's world is facing a great change once in a century. It is our historical responsibility to raise China Italy relations to a new higher level and jointly safeguard world peace, stability, development and prosperity. Through this visit, I would like to work with Italian leaders to draw up a blueprint for China Italy relations and lead China Italy relations into a new era.

 

We are willing to agree to enhance the comprehensive strategic partnership, close high-level exchanges, strengthen cooperation at all levels of the government, Parliament, political parties and local governments, strengthen policy communication, enhance strategic mutual trust and strategic docking, continue to understand and support each other's core interests and major concerns, and consolidate the political foundation of bilateral relations.
 

We are willing to agree to broaden the areas of pragmatic cooperation. China will open wider to the outside world and share its market opportunities with other countries, including Italy, through holding China International Import Expo every year. The two sides can further tap the potential of cooperation in port logistics, shipping, energy, telecommunications, medicine and other fields, and encourage enterprises of the two countries to carry out third-party market cooperation to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.

 

We are willing to agree to close people to people exchanges. As two countries with the largest number of UNESCO World Heritage sites, China and Italy have rich cultural and tourism resources. The two sides should strengthen the ties between the world heritage sites of the two countries, encourage cultural institutions and individuals of the two countries to hold high-level cultural relics and art exhibitions, jointly shoot film and television works, strengthen language teaching, promote personnel exchanges, and make new contributions to the diversity of world civilizations and cultural exchanges and mutual learning.
 

We are willing to strengthen coordination in international affairs and multilateral organizations. China is willing to strengthen communication and cooperation on major issues such as global governance, climate change, UN reform and WTO reform within the framework of the UN, G20, ASEM and WTO, safeguard common interests, promote multilateral democracy and free trade, and safeguard world peace, stability, development and prosperity.

 

Looking back on the past 50 years, China Italy relations have been deeply cultivated, planted and fruitful. Looking forward to the new era, China Italy cooperation is booming and has broad prospects. The Chinese people are looking forward to working hand in hand with the friendly Italian people to cultivate more colorful flowers for the development of bilateral relations, so that the Sino Italian friendship will continue to glow with new vitality.