ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL OFFICE
Head of the Economic and Commercial Office
Alessandra PALUMBO
Consul
Tel. 0086 21 65965900
e-mail: commerciale.shanghai@esteri.it
Italy and China are instrumental trading partners, with an annual trade of about 35 billion euros. Vis-a-vis China, Italy is suffering a significant trade deficit, growing in structural terms in the past 15 years. Rebalancing this asymmetry is an objective shared by the two countries.
Italian exports to China are particularly driven by machinery, equipment, vehicles, clothing, pharmaceuticals and agro-food.
In June 2014 in Beijing, the Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi, and the Prime Minister of China, Li Keqiang, adopted a three-year Action Plan in the economic, commercial and financial fields. The governments of Italy and China have an agenda focusing on the key priorities of their economic systems. Green technologies, agro-food, sustainable urbanization, health services and the aerospace industry are fields in which the two countries can work together, aware of the perfect complementarity between the Italian technological and industrial offer and the Chinese demand caused by the extraordinary development of China.
As for investments, the stocks of Italian FDI in China exceed 12 billion euros.
The Italy-China Intergovernmental Committee – main instrument of the bilateral Strategic Partnership – is the steering committee of the bilateral dialogue. In addition to this, within the framework of the Joint Economic and Commercial Committee, representatives of the two countries discuss issues such as market access, IPR protection and the strengthening of trade and mutual investments.
The two countries have also created the Italy-China Business Forum (opened in Beijing by the two Prime Ministers in June 2014, renewed in 2016). Italian and Chinese entrepreneurs have therefore a permanent dedicated forum working in parallel with the intergovernmental dialogue, facilitating the exchange of information and know-how, industrial and investment proposals.
The Economic and Commercial Office
The Economic and Commercial Office of the Consulate General offers support to the Italian economic, financial and commercial interests in the Consular area (Shanghai Municipality, the provincial governments of Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang), in close cooperation with the Economic and Commercial Office of the Embassy in Beijing.
The Office develops the economic and commercial relations between Italy and China focusing on the five key priority areas identified by the Italy-China Intergovernmental Committee, in which Italy has extensive know-how and China a substantial demand, namely: sustainable urbanization, green technologies, welfare and health services, modern agro-food industry, and the aerospace industry. The Office also promotes the flow of Italian investments in China and the attraction of Chinese investments to Italy.
To achieve such objectives, the Economic and Commercial Office maintains contacts with Chinese and international institutions and organizations, both public and private, which operate in the fields of economy, trade, research and development; participates in trade shows, conferences, seminars and promotional events; ensures the coordination with ICE/Italian Trade Agency (responsible for the promotion of Italian products abroad, the organization and participation in trade shows, assistance and information to Italian companies), and with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in China (which offers general assistance to its members). After having evaluated the circumstances of the case, the Economic and Commercial Office can also intervene in commercial disputes between Italian operators and Chinese counterparts by reporting the incident to the local authorities.
Italian presence in Eastern China
In the Consular area there are over 1,000 Italian companies, mainly in Shanghai and Jiangsu, but with a certain presence also in Zhejiang and to a less extent in Anhui.