Seeking fairer trade relations with China -Meloni in Beijing

(see related) (ANSA) - ROME, JUL 28 - Premier Giorgia Meloni said Sunday that her government was trying to bring about "fairer" trade relations with China as she attended a business forum at Beijing's Great Hall of the People as part of her official visit to the country.
    "The Italy-China business forum is a great opportunity to strengthen our partnership by reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses, on what has worked and what has not, and to do so with the common goal of making trade relations increasingly fair and advantageous for all," Meloni said.
    Italy has a big trade deficit with China and there is also an imbalance when it comes to investments.
    "Chinese investment in Italy is about a third of the level of Italian investments in China," she said.
    "It's a gap that I'd like to see narrowed in the right way".
    Meloni announced that six agreements had been signed in fields ranging from industry to food safety and education.
    "The Memorandum of Industrial Cooperation that we have signed is a significant step," she said.
    "It now includes strategic industrial sectors such as electric mobility and renewables, sectors where China has already been operating on the technological frontier for some time.
    "This requires it to act as a fully developed economy, which it is, sharing the new frontiers of knowledge with its partners".
    (ANSA).