ROME - China and Italy held a bilateral business forum here on Thursday to explore cooperation opportunities in the technical and commercial industries of two countries.

The forum, in its third year, mainly focused on finance, infrastructure construction and healthcare sectors. Representatives from leading Italian and Chinese companies also exchanged views over environmental protection and sustainable development.

The business forum is an important platform that helps companies from the two countries to better know each other and take advantage of collaboration opportunities, Italian Ambassador to China Ettore Francesco Sequi said.

On the sidelines of a gala dinner organized by the Italy-China Foundation earlier this week, Sequi also told Xinhua that China's Belt and Road Initiative has acquired more importance in Italy, where various events are being organized to present the many opportunities offered by the initiative, most notably for port infrastructures on the Mediterranean peninsulas.