Italian PM says his visit to expand cooperation
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E-mail Xinhua, March 29, 2012
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has said that his upcoming visit to China will help promote the development of bilateral ties and expand exchanges and cooperation in various areas.
In a recent interview with Chinese media, Monti, who is expected to arrive in Beijing on Friday, said bilateral relations have been in good shape since the two nations established a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2004.
In 2010, the two sides formulated an action plan aimed at doubling bilateral trade to 80 billion U.S dollars by 2015 from 51 billion dollars in 2011, said Monti, who will also attend the April 1-3 Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2012 in the southern Chinese province of Hainan.
He noted that in 2011, China's trade surplus slipped to 155 billion dollars from 300 billion dollars in 2008, which has made remarkable contributions to international trade balance.
Italy hopes China will further reduce its trade surplus so that bilateral trade will grow in a more balanced fashion, Monti said.
He also called for more efficient cooperation with the Chinese government and enterprises and voiced hope for enhanced economic cooperation of small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) between the two countries.
Monti said he will be honored to attend the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2012 with the theme of "Asia in the changing world -- heading for healthy and sustainable development."
"It is an opportunity I am awaiting with great interest," Monti said.
And the forum will offer a precious opportunity to hold talks with Asian partners on similarities and differences between the various forms of integration in the Asia-Pacific region and the European integration.
On European Union-China ties, Monti said that the EU is China's second biggest trading partner, and China is going to become the EU's main trading partner.
"Solid and strong ties as well as increasing interdependence between the EU and China form a sound foundation upon which cooperation and dialogue can grow and diversify," he said.
Since the strategic cooperation between the EU and China was launched in 2003, their ties have increasingly strengthened, he said, noting that Europe is now among China's top five sources of foreign direct investment, and China's investments in Europe have also grown rapidly.
Between October 2010 and March 2011, the Italian premier said, Chinese firms and banks have pledged 64 billion U.S. dollars in European contracts though there is still much to do to enhance mutual benefits.
On the ongoing European debt crisis, Monti said that Europe is coming out of the crisis, and is now ready to enhance growth.
He said the debt-driven problems that affected the EU should not be mistaken for a weak euro.
"The eurozone crisis was a debt crisis of various EU countries but has never been a crisis of the euro, which has neither lost value in terms of exchange rate nor has experienced a high inflation inside the eurozone," said Monti.
"The number of countries sharing the euro has increased from 12 to 17, and we have today 332 million people sharing this currency ... the euro is a solid, strong and increasingly widespread currency," he said.
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