President Sergio Mattarella of Italy Meets with Wang Yi

On February 17, 2023 local time, President Sergio Mattarella of Italy met with Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in Rome.

Wang Yi conveyed President Xi Jinping's warm greetings to Mattarella, and noted that both China and Italy have been able to accommodate their differences from the broad perspective of history and civilization, respect each other's development path, and promote the sound and steady development of bilateral relations. Noting China’s success in putting the pandemic under control and its increasingly promising economic outlook, Wang Yi said that China will continue to be the main engine of the world economy and bring new opportunities for China-Italy cooperation. He noted that China and Italy should resume exchanges at all levels in an all-round manner, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation across the board. Noting that China and Italy are natural partners in Belt and Road cooperation, Wang Yi said the two sides can further tap into their potential to inject strong impetus into the development of bilateral relations.

Wang Yi said that today's world is rocked by changes and turmoil, with geopolitical conflicts resurfacing in Europe and the prospect for global economic recovery remaining bleak. China firmly believes that the trend of peace, development and cooperation is unstoppable and that unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonism lead nowhere. China is ready to make joint efforts with Italy to practice multilateralism, safeguard the centrality of the United Nations, improve global governance, and play a constructive role in promoting world peace and stability as well as the sound development of China-EU relations.

Mattarella asked Wang Yi to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi Jinping, and expressed readiness to promote the development of Italy-China relations and deepen cooperation in economy and trade, culture and other areas in the spirit of mutual understanding and mutual respect. He agreed that both sides should resume various cooperation mechanisms as soon as possible. Italy supports the European Union in developing relations with China. Under the current circumstances, EU-China cooperation is crucial to tackling global challenges.

During his visit to Italy, Wang Yi also met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Italy Antonio Tajani.