On December 17, 2024, the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Milan, Liu Kan, and the Istituto Italo Cinese presented, in the splendid venue of Sala delle Accademie of the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, the book published by the Consulate to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the Global Strategic Partnership between Italy and China. The event was opened with greetings from Consul General Liu Kan, the Director of the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana Mons. Alberto Rocca and the President of the Istituto Italo Cinese Maria Rosa Azzolina, and was a significant moment of reflection on the achievements and future prospects of this historic collaboration.
The book, titled “20 Years of Global Strategic Partnership between China and Italy: past, present and future”, collects the testimonies of numerous prominent figures from the political, cultural, artistic, economic and scientific worlds of Northern Italy. Through the voices and perspectives of those who have experienced firsthand the relations between the two countries over the past two decades, the work offers not only an in-depth summary of the long path of bilateral cooperation, but also a valuable guide for imagining and outlining future projects.
The pages of the book explore a variety of topics, including the economic and trade dynamics, joint cultural projects, and academic and scientific collaboration. These aspects have marked a common journey, offering a unique perspective on the evolution of a relationship that has gradually strengthened and helping to promote values of friendship, mutual respect, and cross-cultural exchange.
During the presentation, the publisher and several authors who contributed to the creation of this work intervened. Through their speeches, they captivated the audience with insights, reflections and personal recollections, emphasizing the importance of this collaboration in the global context. Among the speakers, the President of the Istituto Italo Cinese Maria Rosa Azzolina, who wrote one of the articles in the book, gave a speech on the importance of global culture today, emphasizing how fundamental the Institute’s work is in promoting encounters, mutual knowledge and collaboration among peoples, with the goal of “building a peaceful and hardworking universal society”.
The event concluded with a celebration of Chinese culture, with the organization of a series of traditional activities, such as the art of calligraphy, paper cutting and tea ceremony, to celebrate the official inclusion of the Spring Festival and its cultural traditions in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
