Trade volume between China and Italy is expected to increase further when a new cooperative agreement signed by the two sides comes into force, Beijing News said on Wednesday.

Last year, Sino-Italian bilateral trade hit a record 15 billion euros, the report said.

Under the new deal signed by Wan Jifei, chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and an official from the Italian Chamber of Commerce, the two countries will increase cooperation in the fields of information technology, telecommunications, trade and investment and training.

To date, there are approximately 2,600 Italian-funded joint ventures in China, with a contractual investment of more than 4 billion euros.

(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2005)