In an exclusive interview with China Economic Herald, Yi Sile, secretary general of the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce, said that in the past few years, the best between China and Italy has continued to grow.
If I look back over the past 10 years, there has been a tremendous increase in both imports and exports**. Of course, there have also been important changes during the pandemic, as we need to import products from China, which in turn needs some Italian specialties, especially in 2021 and 2022, when there was a significant increase.
Among these **, there is still a negative gap for Italy, that is, Italy imports more from China than it exports to China.
In 2022, imports from China were worth about $51 billion, while Italian exports to China were worth about $27 billion. The gap still exists. But disparities are not the crux of the matter, what matters is the continued growth of these elements.
If you focus on specific sectors, Italy is still exporting machinery, leather goods, pharmaceuticals and electronics to China. However, we are also seeing cross-imports and exports of mechanical and electronic products between the two countries, and the export of cars from China to Italy is also an important new trend, and iron ore is also a fairly important part of this.
These factors account for roughly 50% of the total imports and exports between the two countries, so the trends seen in 2023 are similar to before. And we also want to maintain a high level and even expand cooperation in the fields of culture, art and tourism.
For Italy, it is very important to attract Chinese investment.
After talking about the pandemic, both the global market and the Chinese market have undergone profound changes. At present, when it comes to what new opportunities and challenges we are now facing, he said: In many cases, there are opportunities and challenges, and of course challenges will bring opportunities.
During the pandemic, the increase in ** between China and Italy is an example of this. After the pandemic, we will continue to focus on specific business areas where Italian products can deliver excellence.
Therefore, pharmaceutical, high-tech and some specific fields, especially the component fields of some ** chain elements, will become an important direction for future development.
The pandemic is clearly a huge obstacle that has severely dragged down domestic and foreign economies, not only between the two countries. In 2022, due to obstacles such as blockade and difficulty in maintaining the ** chain, the development will be particularly difficult.
But this year we have seen opening-up, and we have seen quite important development results. But now the key is to maintain investor trust, and I understand that China is trying to do that.
This is because there is a wait-and-see attitude among Italian and international entrepreneurs. This wait-and-see needs to be further discussed, and further measures to open up need to be implemented, such as providing fiscal incentives, giving full play to structural advantages, encouraging capital inflows, and optimizing capital utilization. I'm optimistic about what the future holds.
As mentioned earlier, we are trying to communicate with the CCPIT organization, local ** institutions and Italy. An additional effect of the pandemic that is sometimes overlooked is that people can't travel, and Italian managers don't come to China, so they don't have a real understanding of China.
Therefore, one of our missions is also to provide information, to share information, to share the daily sentiment of Italian companies in China. Our work is very focused on working with embassies, consulates, the Italian Foreign Affairs Commission and Italian cultural institutions to help everyone better communicate with local associations in China and within Italy, such as associations, individual companies, individual investors, etc.
Therefore, the main goal at present is to support business in China by launching initiatives, participating in first-class exhibitions, and organizing communication with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. Now that it has been developing for the better, today we ushered in the visit of China's leading governor and met with Minister Wang and his entourage. All this shows that Italy has a strong interest in maintaining or expanding commercial cooperation with China. Therefore, our goal is to support our members, i.e. Italian companies and companies in China, in providing appropriate information and communication.
It's an ongoing work, and it doesn't stop because things change, business changes, and geopolitical conditions change. We need to keep up with these changes and continue to communicate with our partners.
Commenting on the fact that China has been working to improve the business environment over the past few years, Yi said: "In my view, there is still room for improvement, but I know that Chinese leaders are very aware of that. It's just that China is a very big country, and every change and initiative you make requires proper assessment, proper planning and budgeting, etc.
Last week, I attended a meeting at the headquarters of the China Council for the Promotion of International Affairs in Beijing. At the meeting, the Chair listened to a number of major countries and major businesses about their interests and the needs of each country, which were essentially the same for each foreign country. I think CCPIT is efficient in collecting all the information and has the ability to communicate these issues to different levels.
An important signal has come recently that 24 new regulations have been issued. In my opinion, this is in the right direction. In the process of soliciting market opinions, we also need to see the follow-up execution. If these new rules are implemented as promised, I think this is a positive signal to improve and increase the trust of foreign investors, and will give foreign investors more confidence to invest in China, cooperate well and reap the corresponding profits.
When talking about the outlook for the future of China-Italy economic and cooperation between China and Italy, Yi Sile said that in fact, this is a topic of recent discussion among China and related institutions, and it is clear that Italy wants to continue to maintain cooperation with China.
China is still an important player in the international market, so we can't do without China, we just have to find the right way to cooperate to achieve a win-win situation, which is a balance that needs to be achieved to satisfy both sides.
I have been in China for more than 18 years, and I have witnessed the changes from the Olympic Games to the crisis and then to the current period, and I am full of confidence in the Chinese people and China's ability to overcome any difficulties.
Of course, we always say that China has its own system, but we all pursue the same goal. We all want to provide a good life for our people, for our citizens.
We all want to see economic growth. We all yearn for peace. We all want prosperity. So to think that we can't miss the collaboration, this is something that is bound to happen.
Commenting on the participation of Italian brands in the Global Country Branding Program, Ixler said that if we choose big brands, especially those that are the most popular, then you may choose fashion brands such as Prada, Gucci, Ferragamo or if you are a car enthusiast, you can choose Ferrari and Maserati.
Or if you are a shipbuilder, you can opt for fincateri. But in reality, there are many small and medium-sized enterprises that exist and they are the backbone of the Italian economy.
These brands are sometimes not well-known to everyone, and some brands may have been spotted in a shopping mall. One of them is Calzedonia, a brand known for its women's socks and intimate clothing.
There are other brands like FIAMM, which is a highly technologically advanced company, the world's largest producer of solar panels, which manufactures and sells solar cells in China, which is a lesser-known company, but the company invests in China and continues to invest, so they are completely committed to the Italian market.
Another example might be Ponsi, a name that few people know, but Ponsi has been around for more than a century. When you wash up in the morning, the toothbrush you use is likely to be from Ponsi, and whatever brand you have, the toothbrush brush is likely to be from Italy.
Italy is great not only because of the presence of Fiat (F.F.)i.a.t.), Ferrari, those very famous brands, but also because there are many other smaller brands. Another example is Vetiver, which is a jewelry brand that mainly makes very special jewelry such as handmade jewelry, shell reliefs, etc., and they make a single piece of jewelry to provide high-quality products to high-end consumers.
To give another example, Golden Goose is a fashion brand that is very quality-oriented in shoes, leather, etc., and has a considerable market share in China, and I can list countless examples like this.
You said that you want to recommend some brands, I must say that the big brands are still the same, Ferrari, Maserati, Ferragamo, etc. In addition, there are many small and medium-sized enterprises of extremely high quality and excellent performance, which are the backbone of the Italian economy, many of which are family businesses and are still run by families.
If you know Illy Coffee, an Italian coffee brand, it is currently still family-owned, and it has decided not to go on the market. Italy may be different from Germany's model in China, because the main pillar of Italy is small and medium-sized enterprises, there are many small and medium-sized enterprises in China, they are interested and want to continue to cooperate, here I am not in the financial field or in the consulting field, but only in the production field.
So these are just a few examples, and I always feel like I'm missing some other companies, and other companies that aren't mentioned are just as important and prestigious.