Premier Li Qiang called on Sunday for China and Italy to work together to strengthen dialogue at various levels and promote optimized and balanced bilateral trade, in an effort to foster a more mature and stable relationship.

The two countries should enhance cooperation in areas such as shipbuilding, aerospace, new energy and artificial intelligence as well as boost mutually beneficial cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises, Li said during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

On Saturday, Meloni kicked off her first visit to China since assuming office in October 2022, aiming to stabilize Italy's relationship with its strong economic partner.

Her five-day visit comes months after Italy pulled out of the Belt and Road Initiative at the end of last year. It was the only Group of Seven member to sign a BRI cooperation document with China.

After their talks on Sunday, Li and Meloni witnessed the signing of a series of cooperation agreements in areas including industry, education and environmental protection.

Italy is China's fourth-largest trading partner in the European Union, while China is Italy's largest trading partner in Asia.

Li said that China supports its enterprises to carry out cooperation in the European country and hopes that Italy will provide a fair, safe and nondiscriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises.

He called on the two sides to advance people-to-people exchanges, especially make efforts to jointly host a series of activities to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the death of Marco Polo, a legendary Italian explorer who is viewed as a symbol of the historical ties between the two nations.

Li also expressed the hope that the EU will view China's development in a rational manner, see Beijing as a partner, and promote dialogue and cooperation.

China and the EU have been embroiled in trade friction since the group's decision earlier this month to impose provisional tariffs of up to 37.6 percent on electric vehicles imported from China.

Meloni said that Italy is willing to play a positive role in helping stabilize EU-China relations. Rome is committed to developing a long-term, stable and sound relationship with Beijing, and is ready to explore new forms of cooperation, she said.

On Sunday, Li and Meloni also attended the opening ceremony of the seventh meeting of the China-Italy entrepreneurs committee.

The meeting was attended by over 150 entrepreneurs from both sides, including Italian tire maker Pirelli, energy company ENI and defense group Leonardo, as well as wine producers and luxury fashion enterprises.

Li told the business leaders that the sustained development of Sino-Italian comprehensive strategic partnership will bring more stable expectations, broader opportunities and more abundant resources to bilateral trade cooperation.

He called for the two sides to support their enterprises in tapping into the potential of cooperation in smart manufacturing, new energy and biomedicine.

Li emphasized that China's doors will always remain open to businesses from all countries, and it is committed to creating an institutional environment that is transparent, stable and predictable.

Beijing will further ease market access and guarantee equal treatment for foreign and domestic enterprises, in order to provide more support and convenience for foreign businesses investing and operating in China, he said.

Li expressed the hope that Chinese and Italian entrepreneurs will expand shared interests and strengthen the friendly cooperation between the two countries.

On Sunday, Li also met with visiting President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos-Horta.

Li said that China would like to strengthen cooperation with the island nation on infrastructure, connectivity under the BRI framework and expand cooperation in a wider range of areas including agriculture, fisheries, poverty reduction and tourism.

[email protected]