Italy launches first digital platform for business exchanges, betting on Chinese market

By Zhang Hongpei Source:Global Times Published: 2020/6/16 18:43:40



A screenshot of the online opening ceremony of Digital InBuyer China initiative on Tuesday. Photo: Courtesy of ChinaEU



Italy, one of the European countries worst hit by the coronavirus, has gradually emerged from its national lockdown and is now shifting its attention toward resuming its export-oriented economy ravaged during the pandemic. 

On Tuesday, Promos Italia, a national Italian agency for the internationalization of the chamber system, launched the first digital platform for business exchanges, called Digital InBuyer China, which puts selected buyers from the Chinese market in contact with Italian suppliers interested in exporting to the Asian country.

The initiative has planned to dedicate three weeks to the Chinese market, involving sectors in which Italy excels: furniture, fashion and cosmetics.

Over 150 Italian companies from those sectors will meet online with around 60 Chinese professional buyers. The first appointment, dedicated to the furniture sector and running from Tuesday to Thursday, will witness the participation of 20 Chinese buyers and 36 Italian suppliers.

Giovanni Da Pozzo, president of Promos Italia, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview that the Chinese market has over recent years become increasingly important at the global level and for the business of Italian companies. He also said that Made-in-Italy products are highly appreciated in China. 

"It is no coincidence that the first country involved in the new project is China," said Pozzo.

As an export-reliant economy, Italy is actively seeking foreign trade opportunities as numbers of new coronavirus cases continue to fall.

On Monday, the country reported 26 further COVID-19 deaths, the lowest daily increase since March 3 as the overall situation remains "at a low level of criticality," according to official monitoring reports.

Italy entered a broad lockdown on March 8 in response to its COVID-19 outbreak and eased its lockdown from May 4.

"More than 98 percent of the Italian business structure is made up of small and medium-sized enterprises, which suffered a lot from the lockdown and now the restart is not easy," said Pozzo.

He is betting on Italian firms' ability to adapt to a new context, which is "enabling most of them to restart business and contact with foreign countries, [which are] essential for their business and for the Italian economy."

China is the first market to emerge from the coronavirus crisis and has begun business resumption. The digital platform will provide an important opportunity for Italian companies to deepen their knowledge of China's market, said ChinaEU, a business-led international association aimed at intensifying cooperation in information and communications technology (ICT), one of the partners launching the digital platform.

China's imports and exports with Italy hit $54.9 billion in 2019, up 1.2 percent from the previous year, data from China's Ministry of Commerce showed.

Italy is the first G7 country to join the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in March 2019

As a milestone for strengthening economic and commercial cooperation between Italy and China, the BRI program should now be further promoted, according to Pozzo.

"It is essential now to restart the process, especially at this time since it could be a good opportunity to encourage the restarting of economic and commercial relations between Italy and China and to further affirm the Italian strategic role in the context of international commercial relations," Pozzo noted.



Posted in: INDUSTRIES,ECONOMY

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