Sino-Italian cooperation in the construction of 'One Belt, One Road'

China pavilion, the second largest foreign pavilion built at Expo Milano 2015, opened to the public on May 1st with a duration of six months in Milan.[Photo/Xinhua]

The year was 2015.

Due to the 45th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties during Milan Expo, two countries signed a memorandum between Chinese provinces and regions of Italy.

Tourism exchange and cooperation was at the center of a memorandum. 

Provincial representatives of Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Henan, Shandong and Shanghai signed the memorandum with those of 10 major regions of Italy including Lombardy, whose capital is Milan, Tuscany and Sicily.

The memorandum included policies to encourage the interactions among peoples, provide mutual supports, organize staff trainings and reinforce new media applications in various fields.

This was a significant part of the "Belt and Road" initiatives introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping to boost transport infrastructure building, investment and trade facilitation, financial cooperation and cultural exchanges between Asia, home of the second largest economy in the world China, and Europe.

"Italy is the convergence point between the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Thus the Sino-Italian cooperation in the construction of One Belt, One Road will be a reference for all countries along the route," Liaison of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) Fan Wenming pointed out.

In 2014, the number of Chinese tourists traveling abroad increased by 19.5 percent year on year to 109 million, topping a threshold of 100 million for the first time in history, according to CNTA.

Onofrio Cutaia, Director General for tourism policies of the Italian Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MIBACT), said "The rise of China and connected demand for tourism arouse great expectations."
"The strong increase of outbound tourism has made China a great exporter of tourists," he added.

Cutaia stressed the role of tourism in the global economy as a key driver for investments and employment, and promoter for industrial growth.

In today's globalized and technological world, he said, tourism is a multifaceted phenomenon with huge potential of development.
For this reason, he underlined, Italy, the country with highest number of UNESCO world culture sites besides to more than 6,000 palaces and castles and nearly 4,000 protected natural areas, cannot miss the opportunity to strengthen tourism relations with China by "easing visa policies, offering convenient and diversified solutions, and becoming familiar with the needs of Chinese tourists."

Driven by the 2015 Milan World Expo, as China Daily (Wang Minqjie wrote few moths ago) the number of Chinese travelers to Italy reached its zenith 2015, with 3.3 million arrivals, a 45 percent increase from the year before, making China now the fourth most important inbound market for Italy, after Germany, the United States and France, according to the Italian National Institute of Statistics.

Countries such as Italy offer what Chinese tourists are looking for, said Alastair Morrison, former president of the International Tourism Studies Association and CEO of Belle Tourism International Consulting. He cites as examples 'art and culture of historic cities like Rome and Florence; romantic destinations such as Venice and Verona; fashion and luxury shopping in Milan.'

Fashion and culture draw Chinese tourists to Italy.

He suggested the country capitalize on the fame and recognition factor of Marco Polo in China. Italy has long been a favored European destination for Chinese tourists, lured by its rich history, unique culture, high-end fashion and availability of luxury brands.

Still, do we really know each other well, or just enjoy art and fashion in some tourist transit without deeply understanding the way of life between two nations that belongs to different, not rarely far and distant, civilizations of East and West?

Key words: New Silky Road, China, Italy, Milan, expo.