Expo Milano 2015, which is to be held in Italy from May 1 to October 31, 2015, is expected to attract more than 1 million Chinese visitors and establish a new platform for Chinese and Italian firms to build business connections, H.E Vincenzo de Luca, director-general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, said on Thursday.

China has become the second-largest source of Milan's foreign tourists in 2013 and 500,000 tickets of the China Pavilion in the Expo Milano have been sold by June.

Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $35 billion in the first three quarters this year, up 11 percent year-on-year.