On May 7, 2004, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council held talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The two sides exchanged in-depth views and reached broad consensus on China-Italy ties as well as international issues of common interest.

Wen Jiabao said the successful visit of Prime Minister Berlusconi to China last October has exerted a positive impact on China-EU and China-Italy ties. The Chinese government gives high priority to developing relations with Italy and would like to push forward bilateral friendly cooperation. China and Italy will issue the first joint statement since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and promote China-Italy relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership, which is of great significance. As the first inter-governmental cooperation mechanism between China and a European country, the China-Italy Governmental Committee that the two sides declared to establish will be responsible for guiding and coordinating future bilateral cooperation. The Seminar on Promoting Investment between China and Italy which took place today was also the very first of its kind between China and the EU members. All these mark China-Italy relations have entered into a new stage.

Wen Jiabao pointed out economic and trade relations between the two countries have witnessed rapid development with bilateral trade volume reaching a record high of US$ 11.7 billion last year. A number of Italian businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular, have been very active in China and scored very good performances. However, bilateral economic and technological cooperation are still lagged behind compared with the time-honored friendly exchanges and wonderful political relations between the two countries. China and Italy should make careful plans and adopt pragmatic measures to deepen economic and trade cooperation. China would also like to expand bilateral exchanges and cooperation in such areas as culture, education, tourism as well as television and film.

Berlusconi indicated that Italy-China relations have undergone obvious developments in recent years. The consensuses reached by the leaderships in the two countries have been carried out one after another. Italian businesses have more and more interest and enthusiasm to invest in China. More than 700 Italian and Chinese enterprises have conducted commercial consultations with each other on the Seminar on Promoting Investment between China and Italy in just two days. The Italian government will make efforts to encourage Italian companies and businesses to invest in China and also welcomes Chinese enterprises to look for business opportunities in Italy. As two ancient civilizations, both Italy and China abound in cultural resources and should therefore enhance exchanges and understanding.

The two sides also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East and Iraq and other hot international issues. Both believed as the current international situation is rather complicated, China and Italy should maintain consultations with each other on important international issues in bilateral or multilateral fields and make joint efforts in the peaceful resolution of international disputes, poverty eradication, counter-terrorism and the crackdown of cross-border crimes. Prior to the talks, Berlusconi held a welcoming ceremony on Villa Pamphili Square for his Chinese counterpart. Following the talks, the two prime ministers signed the Joint Statement on the Establishment of China-Italy Governmental Committee. Relevant departments in the two countries signed nine cooperative documents, including the Memorandum of Understanding on the Technical Cooperation in Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Action Plan of Health and Medical Sciences 2004-2006. The two prime ministers also co-hosted a press conference.