FM calls for new progress in China-Italy ties

ROME - Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday called for inaugurating a new phase of all-round cooperation between China and Italy.

China and Italy have achieved fruitful results in their comprehensive strategic partnership in the past decade, with great development potential in their relations and broad prospects for cooperation, Wang said on the sidelines of the fifth plenary session of the Sino-Italian Governmental Committee.

China and Italy should carry out mutually beneficial cooperation and expand common interests, he stressed.

Wang said that the governmental committee should strengthen its function to fully display its leadership, enhance cooperation in key areas, enrich bilateral cultural exchanges, and consolidate the public opinion basis.

The committee should also improve its operating mechanism to better guide the development of the bilateral ties, said the top Chinese diplomat.

For her part, Wang's Italian counterpart Emma Bonino hailed the strategic cooperation between Italy and China, noting that both sides should focus on the long-term perspective and promote all-round cooperation in a persistent way to achieve more.