On July 4^th, Adolfo Urso, the Italian Minister of Commerce and Manufacturing, arrived in Beijing on a formal two-day visit. The same day, in the afternoon, Minister Urso met at the Italian Embassy in China with Gu Yifeng, the chairman of the China City Industrial Group(Hereinafter referred to as CCIG), to discuss and exchange ideas regarding the group’s cooperative projects in Italy.

Minister Urso (left), Gu Yifeng (right)

The objective of the mission is to promote a balance of Italy-China relations, laying the foundations for a new course on industrial synergies between the two countries. The main tasks of Minister Urso’s visit is not only for the preparatory for the visit of Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, but also focus on the topics regarding industrial partnership in the fields of green technology and electric mobility.

This May, Minister Urso held the first meeting in Rome with Gu Yifeng, reaching a consensus on cooperation in the field of new energy equipment industry and basic industry. During the meeting in Beijing, Minister Urso inquired the details about the progress of the cooperative projects between CCIG and local Italian companies, and provided multiple guidance on how to expedite the implementation of the projects.
Minister Urso mentioned that the Italian Ministry of Business and Manufacturing has a comprehensive understanding of CCIG, paying highly attention to the progress of CCIG’s cooperation with Italian company and will provide multidimensional policy support. Minister Urso appreciated the innovative cooperation model and diversified products development put forth by CCIG, hoping that the enterprises from both nations would enhance capabilities mutually and cooperate in development, foster more job creations and societal contributions, encourage further cooperations and communications among the enterprises between China and Italy.

Gu Yifeng expressed gratitude to Minister Urso for his attention to and support for the implementation of cooperative projects. He highlighted that Italy serves as the cradle of European Civilization, with a deep-rooted heritage of industrial manufacturing. CCIG, dedicated to the modernization and transformation of the manufacturing industry, was recently awarded the title of “China Unicorn Enterprise in 2024,” benefiting from the rapid development of the new energy equipment industry in China. CCIG has accumulated extensive industrial technology and market experience, and looks forward to sharing successful business practices through cooperative projects with Italian enterprises and jointly developing new technologies and models that are distinctively Italian and meet the demands of the European market. According to Gu Yifeng, the principle of this cooperation is not to replace but to integrate and coordinate. Both parties shall leverage their strengths and complement each other’s weaknesses to create shared value for the future.

The two parties decided to sign the pertinent cooperation agreement during Prime Minister Meloni’s visit to China after engaging in extensive communication and exchanges about the cooperation project’s essential elements and the strategic support provided by the Italian government. Minister Urso, Ambassador Ambrosetti, Ambassador Mario Cospito (Diplomatic Counsellor to the Minister), Minister Plenipotentiary Vincenzo Del Monaco (Adjunct Diplomatic Counsellor to the Minister), Director General Amedeo Teti (Head of Department for Enterprises Policies at the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy) and other participants from the Minister’s delegation and the Embassy’s staff have attended the meeting. CEO of CCIG (Europe), Pei Jie, and President of CCIG Overseas, Simone, accompanied the meeting.