Ludovica Murazzani, commercial consul of the Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai addresses a business forum for enterprises from Wuxi and Italy held in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on March 26. [Photo by Wu Yeyun/chinadaily.com.cn]

"Wuxi is an important location for Italian companies. Apart from economic and commercial sectors, there are many other sectors in which we want to increase our cooperation," said Ludovica Murazzani, commercial consul of the Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai at a business forum for enterprises from Wuxi and Italy held in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on March 26.

The forum, hosted by the Wuxi Municipal People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, is part of the 2019 Wuxi International Cherry Blossom Festival, which has become not only a festival for cherry blossom admiring, but also a platform for boosting cooperation between Wuxi and foreign countries.

Around 22 Italian companies and more than 20 Chinese companies attended the forum.

Around 22 Italian companies and more than 20 Chinese companies attend the forum. [Photo by Wu Yeyun/chinadaily.com.cn]

"We have long been doing business with Chinese companies and we'd like to find more Chinese partners through this forum," said Luca Pizzo, sales director of the Shanghai Xingque International Trade Co, an Italian trade company based in Rome.

"The forum is great. Although it is on a small scale, it features companies from similar industries and offers us a chance to talk face to face so that we can better understand each other," said Kevin Xie, director of the China & Asia Pacific Procurement Department of Ariston Thermo Group, one of the world's leading heating system producers that is based in Italy.

"Wuxi enjoys close business contacts with Italy. Around 102 projects in the city are invested in by the European country and hundreds of Italian companies have settled in Wuxi," said Murazzani.

With the memorandum of understanding between China and Italy being signed as part of measures to promote the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative on March 23, Murazzani hopes to see more business cooperation between Italy and Wuxi, as she believes that Wuxi plays a key role in the construction of the initiative.

Representatives of an Italian company and a Chinese company discuss business at the forum. [Photo by Wu Yeyun/chinadaily.com.cn]