Italy to expand investment in China, predicts trade official

Italy to expand investment in China, predicts trade official An Italian trade officials said Thursday he expects Italy to begin investing heavily in China, as other Western nations have, instead of merely relying on the manufacturing powerhouse for import and export trade.
   “The faster China’s economy rises, the more Italian companies will follow the trend of investing here,” Antonino Laspina, trade commissioner with the Italian Trade Commission, told China Daily. “Italy will be a good gateway to expand business into the European Union' for Chinese companies.
   The newspaper reported that since 2000, China-Italy trade has seen annual growth of 22 percent. In 2005, bilateral trade increased 19 percent to $18.62 billion compared with 2004. In the first half of last year alone the figure was $13.39 billion.
   Laspina said he predicts the growth rate of trade between the nations will grow to 30 percent annually.
   Primary exports to China from Italy are luxury goods and machinery products, while exports from China to Italy are textiles, electronic goods and toys.
   “For Italian companies there will be two strategies,' Laspina said. 'One is still finished goods. The other is transferring manufacturing into China, making products tailored for Chinese combined with Italian styles and concepts.”