BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in Beijing on Friday, saying the two countries should make joint efforts to build a world of harmonious coexistence.

Mattarella is in China for a state visit at the invitation of Xi.

Noting that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership, Xi said China and Italy, both ancient civilizations, should uphold their traditions of openness and inclusiveness, and encourage the international community to resolve differences through dialogue and rise above conflicts through cooperation.

Noting that mutual respect and trust, and win-win cooperation should always be the defining feature of China-Italy relations, Xi said the two sides should fully leverage the role of the China-Italy Government Committee and dialogue mechanisms in various fields, strengthen exchanges, consolidate mutual trust, continue to understand and support each other on issues of core interests and major concerns, and be strategic partners of mutual support.

China-Italy cultural cooperation has yielded fruitful results and is full of vitality, Xi said. He urged the two sides to continue to strengthen people-to-people exchanges, implement the new round of cultural cooperation action plans, deepen cooperation on culture and art, cultural relics' protection, translation of classical works, tourism and education, and make cooperation on cultural heritage sites a new highlight of China-Italy people-to-people exchanges.

Xi called on the two sides to support language teaching and youth exchanges, and remain cooperative partners helping each other to succeed. China is willing to import more quality Italian products, support mutual investment by enterprises of the two countries and continue to advance cooperation on science, technology, environmental protection, clean energy and aerospace, Xi said.

Xi said that China and Europe are major forces for peace and constructive action, and should stick to the right direction of strategic communication, open cooperation and mutual learning, which is in the interests of both sides and the world at large.

Xi said that China takes Europe as an important partner on the path toward realizing Chinese modernization. He urged the two sides to seek win-win cooperation and manage their differences properly to ensure that bilateral relations are more mature and stable, as duly expected.

"China is willing to strengthen cooperation with the European side to cope with global challenges, and hopes that Italy can play a positive role in this regard," Xi said.

Mattarella said this year marks the 700th anniversary of the death of Marco Polo, whose connection with China epitomizes the long-standing friendship between the two countries and the mutual success of the two civilizations. He added that Italy and China should further enhance people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in such fields as culture, education, language teaching and cultural heritage cooperation, and make new contributions to promoting the dialogue and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations, as well as the progress of human civilization.

Mattarella said Italy firmly adheres to the one-China policy and always considers China as an important partner. Italy looks forward to working with China to take the opportunity of celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership to strengthen cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, and science and technology, and push bilateral relations to a new height.

Italy shares similar positions with China on many major issues. Both sides oppose protectionism, advocate mutual openness, and stand for strengthening constructive communication, solidarity and cooperation to jointly meet various challenges. Italy is willing to work closely with China in multilateral collaboration and contribute the wisdom of the two civilizations to promoting world peace and stability, Mattarella said.

After the talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of multiple bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of culture, science and technology, education, and the protection of world heritage sites.