Foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Monday repeated Italy's desire for cooperation and dialogue with China, while underscoring its backing for planned European Union tariffs on electric vehicles imported from the Asian superpower.
"To the Chinese foreign trade minister I reiterated Italy's willingness to cooperate with this great country, which is our interlocutor but also a competitor in international markets," Tajani stated.
Tajani made the remarks after talks with China's trade minister Wang Wentao in Rome.
I also reiterated Italy's position regarding duties on cars: we support the EU's position," said Tajani, referring to a vote the bloc may reportedly hold on Thursday to slap tariffs on EVs.
"Italy hopes to cooperate instead on the issue of small and medium-sized enterprises, as is shown by extremely positive initiatives that we have agreed on," Tajani said.
"We will underline these initiatives when I accompany President (Sergio) Mattarella to Beijing,” Tajani said, in reference to a visit to China by Italy's head of state in November.
Wang was in Rome to discuss industrial cooperation and was also set to hold talks in the capital with his Italian counterpart Adolfo Urso.
On Thursday, Wang is set to meet EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis later this week, a Chinese ministry spokesman told reporters last week.
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