Bank of China to foster ties between Chinese, Italian SMEs

Bank of China on Monday signed an agreement with the Milan-based Italy China Foundation to create a platform of services aimed at enhancing collaboration between the two countries' small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs).

The platform will offer all kind of assistance including increasing mutual knowledge and helping companies in the difficult task of searching solid partners, Bank of China's officials said in a conference held in Italy's business capital Milan to present the project.

"SMEs from Italy and China are complementary to each other," but have difficulties in finding each other and need valid instruments, SMEs Department Director at the Bank of China Head Office Wang Jian highlighted.

For example, Wang said, the strong points of Chinese SMEs, such as a more comfortable investment environment in terms of labor costs, can combine with Italian SMEs' excellent technological skills with a win-win perspective.

"Traditionally, Bank of China would provide loans to big companies," but following the fast development of China's economy, "its services today are focused on SMEs," Wang explained to Xinhua.

Currently some 99 percent of Bank of China's clients are SMEs, he underlined.

Italian firms rarely chose to enter the Chinese market alone, and many of them have failed in their mission, Italy China Foundation President Cesare Romiti noted.

"Together with Bank of China, we will assist companies in their internationalization path, helping them to build solid development projects, starting from identifying strategic partnerships and business partners," he said.

A delegation of Chinese SMEs in different sectors including food, textile and green technologies took part in the conference, which was also attended by local authorities including Chairman of Aspen Institute Italia and former economy minister Giulio Tremonti.

Head of Italian Trade Promotion Agency (ICE) Riccardo Monti said"Italy has good relations with China, but has not achieved its potential yet."

He noted that Italy is only China's 22nd trade partner, despite being among the 10 most industrialized countries in the world.

"Italian companies are still suffering from the economic crisis, especially due to lack of lending support, and having a big Chinese bank at their side is a remarkable growth factor," Monti highlighted.

"I know that Chinese banks have the potential to enormously contribute to enhance business exchanges between the two countries," he stressed.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's official visit to China from Tuesday to Thursday will be a valuable occasion to further boost bilateral trade partnership especially in the sustainable urbanization, healthcare, environmental protection and modern agriculture sectors, Monti said.