Italian PM Matteo Renzi seeks Chinese investment during Beijing visit
China's president signs ten trade agreements with Italian prime minister during Matteo Renzi's fist visit to Beijing since becoming his country's youngest ever leader
Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi met on Wednesday with China’s leaders, making him the latest European leader to beat a path to Beijing’s door hoping to attract more investment.
Renzi, the 39-year-old former mayor of Florence, met with China’s President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and National People’s Congress Chairman Zhang Dejiang on his first trip to China since becoming Italy’s youngest-ever prime minister in February.
“Many people think efficiency [in Italy] is not so good and China has grown very fast, so we need to study China,” Renzi said after a meeting at which he and Li signed ten agreements, including a deal for Shanghai Electric to buy a 40 per cent stake in Italian power engineering company Ansaldo Energia.
“We need to work hard to attract more Chinese companies to come to Italy to invest,” he added. “Today, these agreements signify the new road.”
European leaders are determined to court China’s booming economy. In December British Prime Minister David Cameron visited Beijing with a retinue of business leaders in tow.
“Many people think efficiency [in Italy] is not so good and China has grown very fast, so we need to study China.”
France scored something of an economic and diplomatic coup in March by signing a string of deals worth 18 billion euros (HK$189 billion) after Xi made a lavish state visit to Paris.
