Mattarella's State Visit

Italy fourth among EU countries in export volume to China, trailing Germany, France and the Netherlands

The year 2023 closed with a positive result for Italian exports to China, which recorded a trend growth of 16.8%, amounting to 19.2 billion euro

by Redaction Rome

8 November 2024

Il Presidente della Repubblica Sergio Mattarella con la figlia Laura e con il Vice Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri e Ministro degli Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale, Antonio Tajani, al sito Unesco del Palazzo d'Estate di Pechino, 07 novembre 2024.

2' min read

Key points

In 2023, Italian exports will grow by 16.8%.
China's import of Italian products is falling
Investment imbalance

2' min read

President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella on a state visit to China meets President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The aim of the visit, which comes after that of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni last July, is to seal a complex process that during the year that is drawing to a close has marked Italy's abandonment of the memorandum on the New Silk Road and the construction of a relationship founded on new foundations, with the relaunch of the strategic partnership launched twenty years ago. A reciprocal interest, given the insistence with which even the Chinese side has solicited Mattarella's presence, confirming the strong relationship between the Italian Head of State and Xi Jinping, cemented by the two respective State visits that took place in the previous seven-year term.

Since 2004, diplomatic relations between the two countries have been framed in what is called a 'global strategic partnership'. In other words, the extension of ongoing collaborations is not limited to the strictly bilateral sphere, be it political, economic-commercial or cultural, but also involves the handling of global issues, the EU-China relationship, and multilateral issues. 2020 also marked the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations between Italy and China.

Italy ranks fourth among EU countries in export volume to China.

China is a strategic destination for Italian exports, with untapped growth potential. The country is among the top ten destinations of our exports globally, the first market in Asia and second among non-European countries, after the United States. Italy ranks fourth among EU countries in terms of export volume to China, preceded by Germany, France and the Netherlands.

In 2023, Italian exports will grow by 16.8%

The year 2023 closed with a positive result for Italian exports to China, which recorded a trend growth of 16.8%, reaching the figure of 19.2 billion Euros. At the sector level, among the five main sectors by share of Italian exports to China, the pharmaceutical sector (+192.1%), the textile and clothing sector (+14%) and the machinery sector (+0.9%) showed growth compared to the same period in 2022; the chemical substances and products sector (-11.4%) and the transport means sector (-26.5%) declined.

China's imports of Italian products are falling

In the same period, the aggregate value of Italian imports from China was EUR 47.6 billion, down 17.8% from 2022. This is a downward trend that has continued uninterruptedly since December 2022. As a result, almost all sectors of economic activity including the main sectors by share of imports from China when compared to 2022 are on negative ground: computers, electronic and optical equipment (-16.5%), electrical equipment (-6.9%), textiles (-23%), chemicals and chemical products (-11.1%), machinery and equipment (-20.1%).

The imbalance on investments

In terms of investments, an imbalance persists between the stock of Italian FDI in China, which amounted to €15.5Bn in 2022, and the stock of Chinese FDI in Italy, which amounted to €2.3Bn in 2022. With regard to Italian investments in China, the pursuit of genuine equality of treatment (level playing field) and protection of intellectual property for foreign economic operators remains a priority. In terms of attracting productive Chinese investments in Italy, current figures indicate that there are still ample margins for development, particularly in sectors connected to the achievement of objectives related to sustainable mobility.

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