On May 7, 2004, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council met withItalian Senate Speaker Marcello Pera and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Pier Ferdinando Casini respectively in Rome.

Wen conveyed the greetings from Chairman Wu Bangguo of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China to the two Speakers. He said that both China and Italy are time-honored civilizations and friendly exchanges between the two peoples can be traced back to nearly a thousand years ago. In recent years, political relations between the two countries have been further consolidated, and economic and trade cooperation have been increasingly expanded with bilateral trade volume already exceeding US$10 billion. On the morning of May 7, Wen and his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi jointly attended the Symposium on China-Italy Investment and have seen great potentials and bright prospects for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. Closer economic and trade relations must be based on good political relations and cultural exchanges, and the two sides should further enhance their exchanges and cooperation in such areas as science and technology, culture, education and tourism. The Chinese government attaches great importance to developing comprehensive strategic partnership with Italy and is willing to push forward China-Italy friendly relations of cooperation.

Wen noted that since long ago the Italian Parliament has maintained friendly contacts with the China's NPC and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). China and Italy have no conflict in fundamental interests and share common interests in many issues. The Italian Parliament has established close relations with and exerted great influence on different segments of the society. The two sides should carry out exchanges and expand cooperation on the basis of mutual respect.

The two Speakers respectively indicated that Italy gives top priority to developing friendly cooperation in various fields with China. China's economic growth and prosperity have brought great business opportunities to Italy. Differing in historical backgrounds and cultural traditions, every country has its right to choose its path of development suitable to its own national conditions. Countries with different social systems should respect each other. The Italian Parliament would like to actively carry out exchanges and cooperation with the NPC and other Chinese agencies in the principle of equality and mutual benefit.