On October 23, 2008, Chinese President Hu Jintao met at the Great Hall of the People with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who is here to attend the seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit to be held on Oct. 24 to 25.

Hu said China and Italy had maintained good momentum in bilateral ties as the political trust and coordination in major international issues strengthened. The trade structure of the two countries had been optimized, mutual investment had been increased, and technology and environmental protection cooperation had been fruitful, he said. The holding of the Year of Italian Culture has promoted humanities and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. Both sides should maintain high-level contacts, deepen political trust, strengthen trade and investment cooperation and expand humanities exchanges. He also called for closer coordination in international affairs to safeguard world peace and stability. Hu added the two countries would take the chance of the 7th ASEM Summit and the 11th China-EU Summit to improve contact between Asia and Europe, as well as China and the EU. He also called for cooperation with the international community to prevent financial crisis from being escalated and reduce its harm on the tangible economy, stave off a global economic recession, and find a way to reform the international financial system, so as to safeguard the stability of the world economy and the international finance.

Berlusconi said Italy and China both have a time-honored history of civilization and should have more cultural exchanges, adding that Italy will attend the 2010 Shanghai World Expo' and host the 2015 World Expo', and it will exchange experience with China in this regard. China's advocacy on building a harmonious world is conducive to promoting word peace and global prosperity, he said. Italy valued China's role in the international affairs and would work with China to prevent the financial crisis from bringing severe harm to the world economy.

State Councilor Dai Bingguo attended the meeting.