Italian President arrives in Beijing for state visit; Summer Palace first destination

Italian President Sergio Mattarella arrived in Beijing on Thursday to start his state visit to China from November 7 to 12. The Summer Palace was the first destination Mattarella visited upon his arrival, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. 

The visit is expected to promote pragmatic cooperation between the two countries in various sectors in cultural and technological communications as well as people-to-people exchanges to facilitate the development of bilateral relations, Chinese experts said.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Italy, as well as the 700th anniversary of the death of Italian explorer Marco Polo, CCTV reported on Thursday.

This is Mattarella's second trip to China since February 2017, the report said.

In response to a question about Mattarella's state visit to China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a routine press conference on Tuesday that China stands ready to work with Italy to further deepen political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation and cultural and people-to-people exchanges, promote mutual learning among civilizations, and provide more stability for a changing and turbulent world.

According to Italian media outlet Agenzia Nova, the Italian side "will visit the monumental complex China Millennium Monument that houses the World Art Museum" on Friday. Mattarella's schedule in Beijing also includes "laying a wreath at the Monument to the People's Heroes and meeting with the Italian community." 

The Italian President will also visit Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province with itinerary there including watching a performance of the opera "Marco Polo" by the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory of Venice, and Guangzhou, the capital city of South China's Guangdong Province, will be the last stop of the visit, Agenzia Nova reported.

The Italian President's China visit is expected to promote pragmatic bilateral cooperation in several areas, such as high technology, culture and people-to-people exchanges, as well as educational communications, Zhao Junjie, a senior research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Zhao noted that although there have been some twists and turns, overall, the China-Italy relationship remains stable. "Many high-tech companies in Italy have made great achievements through cooperation with China, and the cultural, tourism, and educational exchanges between Italy and China have consistently maintained substantial collaboration," Zhao said.

"There are people in the current Italian government who are relatively pragmatic and friendly toward China, represented by the Italian President, who is actively advocating for the advancement of China-Italy relations," Zhao said, noting that this visit may also be viewed as a reflection of the mainstream trend in Italian politics, which is favorable towards China.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid a visit to China in July, during which the two sides issued a 2024-2027 action plan on strengthening their comprehensive strategic partnership.

"It is hoped that the visit by the Italian President will yield more practical results," Zhao said.