Chinese, Italian firms sign deals at Milan innovation week

Chinese and Italian firms on Tuesday signed 19 cooperation agreements covering research and economic issues during the opening day of the 9th China-Italy Science, Technology, and Innovation Week.

The event, which is being held in Milan and will run through Thursday, attracted some 1,470 delegates from about 755 universities, research institutions and other organizations of the two countries.

The cooperation deals cover various economic sectors, research and emerging technologies – including artificial intelligence applied to robotics to promote collaborative robots – and cooperation to build the Chinese next-generation synchrotron radiation facility.

The agreements will allow the creation of summer schools for Italian and Chinese students in mechatronics, advanced robotics and digital systems.

The two sides also signed a joint declaration stressing satisfaction with “the excellent level” of bilateral cooperation in technological innovation.

“In contemporary globalization, innovation is the key factor for the dynamism of economic and social systems that are connected worldwide,” Italy’s Education and Research Minister Marco Bussetti said.

“The knowledge economy goes beyond national borders... and it is therefore only by enhancing research that we can plan a future of individual and collective prosperity.”

Bussetti said he saw the Sino-Italian relationship as “fundamental for the cultural, economic and political future of Italy.”

The cooperation deals included aeronautical collaboration between the Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute and the Italian Aerospace Research Center, according to the organizers.

“We have ongoing collaborations with 158 countries, among which Italy is a strategic partner,” China’s Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang said.

“Italian research is internationally renowned, and we will keep working together on pilot projects in many sectors, from aerospace to intelligent manufacturing. Particular attention will be paid to sustainable energy,” he said.

At the event, researchers, business people, and delegates will address a vast range of issues “in line with the respective research strategies of the two countries,” according to the organizers.

These will include life sciences, advanced manufacturing, green growth, sustainable urbanization, food security, and smart grids.