On December 11th, Gao Yan, Chairperson of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), attended the opening ceremony of the China-Italy Business Dialogue in Beijing and delivered a speech.

Gao Yan said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Italy 50 years ago, bilateral economic and trade cooperation has been continuously promoted. As the two countries' joint efforts in building the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) grow in both depth and substance, economic complementarity and cooperation potential between the two sides in trade, manufacturing, infrastructure, third-party markets and other areas will be fully revealed. The CCPIT stands ready to work with the Italian Embassy in China and other organizations to tap the potential of bilateral trade, promote high-quality development of trade cooperation, build bridges between government and business, and foster a law-based, market-oriented and international business environment. Next year, the CCPIT will actively participate in and firmly support the B20 process of Italy. Also, it hopes to join hands with the Italian business community, including the Italian Chamber of Commerce in China and Italian enterprises, to speak out loud in upholding multilateralism, improving global economic governance and promoting inclusive and sustainable growth of the global economy, so as to promote Italy's fruitful achievements in the B20 and G20.

The Dialogue was co-hosted by the Italian Embassy in Beijing, China, the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), and the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce (CICC). Manlio Di Stefano, Italian Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Carlo Ferro, President of the ITA, delivered video speeches; Luca Ferrari, Italian ambassador to China, and Paolo Bazzoni, Chairman of the CICC, delivered speeches on site. About 200 people from the Chinese and Italian business community attended the event.