Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, Sept 9, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

NEW DELHI - Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Saturday that the Chinese side is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with Italy within the Group of 20 (G20) framework to jointly safeguard the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains.

Li made the remarks in his meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

A healthy and stable China-Italy relationship is in line with the common interests and the need for better development of both countries, he said

A healthy and stable China-Italy relationship is in line with the common interests and the need for better development of both countries, he said.

Li recalled that last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Meloni in Bali, Indonesia, where both sides reached important consensuses on enhancing solidarity and cooperation, and jointly tackling challenges.

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Noting that next year marks the 20th anniversary of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership, the Chinese premier called on the two sides to take this opportunity to further strengthen dialogue and cooperation and jointly promote development and prosperity.

He also pointed out that China is willing to deepen institutional cooperation with Italy and make good use of such cooperation mechanisms as the Joint Meeting of the China-Italy Government Committee to upgrade the level of cooperation between the two sides.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, Sept 9, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Li called on both sides to continue to expand bilateral trade, saying that China will continue to expand market access to create more opportunities for Italian quality products to enter the Chinese market.

He expressed the hope that the Italian side will provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in the European country.

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For her part, Meloni said Italy and China are both ancient civilizations and the two countries enjoy a long history of friendly exchanges.

Meloni added that Italy welcomes the successful convening of the Joint Meeting of the China-Italy Government Committee and stands ready to strengthen exchanges and dialogue with China under the bilateral framework to further deepen bilateral cooperation.