Food safety among the issues at the center of the new four-year agreement signed between Rome and Beijing

Italy and China - even on a commercial level - must coexist and the visit of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in recent days intends to start a new long season of collaboration. Bilateral relations were at the center of the talks between the Italian and Chinese prime ministers Li Qiang , in a year marked by the twentieth anniversary of the Global Strategic Partnership between Italy and China and the 700th anniversary of the death of Marco Polo.

"The two Heads of Government", we read in a note from Palazzo Chigi, "discussed how to promote a balanced and sustainable development of bilateral trade and mutual investments, strengthen scientific and cultural collaboration and guarantee constructive dialogue in all sectors of common interest. They also addressed the management of major global challenges, from Artificial Intelligence to climate change, agreeing on the need to define common and shared solutions".

On the occasion of the meeting, an Action Plan was adopted for the strengthening of the Global Strategic Partnership (2024-2027) and six agreements were signed, relating to industrial collaboration, the protection of geographical indications, food safety, environment and education. The two leaders also inaugurated the 7th edition of the Italy-China Business Forum, in the presence of over 100 Italian and Chinese companies and trade associations. The memorandum of understanding regarding bilateral collaboration in the field of Geographical Indications "aims to encourage cooperation between Masaf and the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation on the fight against counterfeiting in the Iigg (geographical indications, ed.) sector, through an exchange of information on the respective regulatory frameworks, supported by the organization of conferences and training activities".

The memorandum of understanding on Geographical Indications of agricultural and food products "is aimed at encouraging dialogue between Masaf and the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (Cnipa) on the regulatory aspects of Iigg, through the exchange of information, the publication of the respective Iigg lists and the organization of events and training activities". The Education Cooperation Executive Program (2024-2027) "outlines an executive program between Maeci (Foreign Affairs) and the Chinese Ministry of Education on training and expanding academic mobility".

The Action Plan on collaboration in the field of food safety regulation, between the Ministry of Health and the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation (Samr), "envisages the exchange of information and experiences to improve the safety of food chains". The MoU for collaboration on environmental protection and sustainable development, agreed between the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security and the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment, "aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of climate change , the protection of biodiversity, pollution and training, increasing opportunities for dialogue and training and joint activities".