The launch of the new Annual Report on the Development of Italy (2020-2021) and the seminar on “Recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and China-Italy cooperation”, sponsored by the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Cass), was held last September 24 in Beijing both online and in person.
More than 30 experts, scholars and media professionals from think tanks and universities such as Cass, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Nankai University, China University of Political Science and Law, Institute of Political, Economic and Social Studies ( Eurispes) and the University of Rome Unitelma Sapienza attended the event.
The Annual Report on the Development of Italy (2020-2021) is the second annual volume of the Blue Book of Italy series, organized and produced by the Cass European Studies Institute, the Cass International Cooperation Office and the Chinese Association for Italian studies.
2nd annual report on Italian development, there is China
The study provides a detailed and authoritative analysis of the situation and the main developments in politics, economy, society, foreign and Sino-Italian relations year by year in Italy.
In 2020, Italy was hit hard by the Coronavirus, so much so that the book is titled “Italy under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic”. The text outlines the development of Italy in 2020 under the political, economic, social and foreign relations aspects, analyzing in detail and evaluating the development of China-Italy relations.
According to the participants, in 2020, Italy had considerable difficulties, between the public health crisis, the economic crisis and the social difficulties caused by the pandemic. Overall, relations between the two countries have withstood the test of the epidemic. Although there are some dissonant voices, practical cooperation, mutual benefit and mutually beneficial results are still the mainstream and future general direction of China-Italy relations.
On the occasion of the presentation of the book, Professor Sun Yanhong, editor-in-chief of the Blue Book of Italy and senior researcher at the Cass Institute of European Studies, declared that the foundations of international cooperation in the post-pandemic era have become more fragile. However, whether it is China or Italy and the European Union, the economic recovery in the post-Coronavirus era will never take place in a closed internal market.
International cooperation is indispensable, even more important and urgent than before. The Chinese and Italian governments have reached an agreement for the “China-Italy Year of Culture and Tourism” of 2020, suspended due to the epidemic, and postponed to 2022. This shows that the two countries attach great importance to cooperation practice in the post-pandemic era and who have high expectations for this collaboration.
Furthermore, Prof. Lorenzo Codogno, former chief economist at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Prof. Michele Geraci, former Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Economic Development, also participated in the online meeting, and gave speeches on the Sino-Italian cooperation in the scenario of recovery after the pandemic.
Angelo Caliendo from Eurispes participated in the online meeting, and gave a speech on Sino-Italian cooperation in the scenario of recovery after the pandemic written by Prof. Gian Maria Fara, president of Eurispes.
