Strong political ties between the two countries are also providing a strong foundation for business and cultural ties, Barberis said.

She is very optimistic about China's Belt and Road Inititative, a reference to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives, transport infrastructure projects linking Asia and Europe, proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013－and she believes that this policy will be very successful.

The Milan Expo is providing a great opportunity to deepen bilateral exchanges and many Chinese and Italian businesses have been able to discuss cooperation in a series of themed conferences held during the global event, she said.

According to Wang, in the past few months, the China Pavilion has hosted more than 15 provincial-level trade promotion events; in September, Shandong province held the largest one with more than 300 Chinese and Italian enterprises participating during the Shandong Week industry event.

Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Co, a leading Chinese wine producer, also took part in the event. According to Sun Jian, deputy general manager of the company, since 2012, the company has placed greater emphasis on its overseas market to hedge declining domestic sales, and has established cooperation with many European companies in traditional wine producing countries including France, Spain and Italy.

The company attended the five-day Shandong Week at the expo, during which it negotiated plans with two Italian winemakers.

As early as 2011, Italian sparkling wine maker Donelli signed an agreement to issue and transfer its intellectual property rights in the Chinese market to Changyu, including its trademark and Chinese brand name. They plan to further their cooperation.

Changyu is also negotiating with the Generali Group, which has seven chateaus in Italy. The agreement would allow Changyu to use Generali's wine laboratory, one of the most advanced in the world.

"Every province places a lot of emphasis on this platform. We held events in various formats including visiting local enterprises, banquets and trade fairs. We also received very positive feedback from the Italian side," Wang said.

Many Chinese companies seek business opportunities in Italy through the platform. Founded in 1998 at Weifang, Shandong, Foton Lovol International Heavy Industry Co recorded 2.8 billion euros ($3.1 billion) in sales revenue last year. It also bought an Italian agricultural machinery company earlier this year.

"Through the acquisition, we would like to promote high-end agricultural machine in the Chinese market, and it will set up a new center in Italy Emilia Romagna," said Massimo Zubelli, general manager of Lovol Europe, during the trade fair at Shandong Week.

More economic trading functions are expected to play major roles in the design of China pavilions in future world expos, to use the global platform to propel international trade relationships, Wang said.