ROME, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Italian Ambassador to China Luca Ferrari said in a speech on Wednesday that the growth opportunities for Italian companies in the Chinese market were tangible, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

"China is back on its feet," said Ferrari at a two-day virtual conference which started on Wednesday to discuss the opportunities offered by the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

China "has worked tirelessly to revive its economy after the lockdown," Ferrari noted, adding that "This has offered major opportunities to our companies, to begin with, our exports."

In the first seven months of 2020, the export of Italian goods to China reached some 6 billion euros (7 billion U.S. dollars) in value, while the presence of Italian firms on Chinese e-commerce platforms and their participation in Chinese industrial life grew, according to the ambassador.

Meanwhile, Italy's productive potential could offer specific opportunities to Chinese firms, according to Song Wei, deputy director of the International Development Cooperation Institute with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC).

"Italy is an important economy and a large market with innovative products and services," Song told the conference. She stressed that Italian market has a high level of compatibility with the Chinese one. In addition, the Italian government has attached great importance to attracting foreign capital into the country in recent years, which would work as an incentive for global investors, said Song.

Now in its third edition, the Sino-Italian conference on the BRI was organized by Italy's financial media outlet Class Editori in cooperation with Xinhua News Agency. Ferrari and Chinese Ambassador to Italy Li Junhua were among the key guests. Italian and Chinese officials, experts, and entrepreneurs attended the virtual conference.

Speakers on the opening day also included representatives from Italian and Chinese firms such as Snam and Huawei.