Li Keqiang Meets with Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy

On April 28, 2019, Premier Li Keqiang met with Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Li Keqiang noted that Italy is an important member of the European Union (EU), as well as an important cooperative partner of China. President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Italy last month was a complete success. In recent years, both sides have carried out cooperation in line with the principle of mutual respect and equal treatment, and bilateral relations have enjoyed sustained and sound development. The Chinese side is willing to, together with the Italian side, enhance high-level exchanges, align the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with Italy’s development strategies, and deepen cooperation in infrastructure, third-party market, small and medium-sized enterprises, scientific and technological innovation, finance, aviation and other areas. Italian companies are welcome to invest in China. It is hoped that both sides can provide a level playing field for each other's companies. The Chinese side is willing to import more high-quality agricultural products from Italy, and strengthen communication and coordination with the Italian side in international affairs such as coping with climate change, and hopes the Italian side will continue to play a positive role in deepening China-EU relations and promoting dialogue and cooperation in various fields.

Giuseppe Conte expressed that the BRI has brought prosperity for the world. The Italian side is ready to take the signing of the bilateral memorandum of understanding as an opportunity to expand its participation in jointly building the BRI, and deepen Italy-China cooperation in such areas as economy and trade, energy, finance, insurance, agricultural products and intellectual property protection. The Italian side is willing to, together with the Chinese side, maintain the prime ministers’ regular meeting mechanism, and strengthen communication and coordination on multilateral fields including the United Nations, reform of the World Trade Organization and tackling climate change.

After the meeting, Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte witnessed together the signing of bilateral cooperation documents.

Xiao Jie attended the meeting.