Italian politicians, scientists call for cooperation with China to address global challenges

NAPLES, Italy, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Italian politicians and experts have called for more cooperation with China in scientific and technological innovation areas to jointly tackle global challenges such as climate change.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the 13th China-Italy Science, Technology and Innovation Week here on Tuesday, Anna Maria Bernini, Italy's minister of universities and research, noted that scientific and technological innovation cooperation has always been a key driving force in advancing the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

She urged both sides to tap their respective strengths, enhance dialogue and sharing, and work together to tackle global challenges.

Bernini told Xinhua that Italy is committed to improving sci-tech cooperation with China by sharing good practices, instead of imposing restrictions on Chinese universities or companies.

Since its inception in 2010, the innovation week has been successfully held 12 times across various cities in both countries. It has become a key platform for collaboration between the governments, enterprises, and research institutions, facilitating over 6,200 technological matches in total.

Riccardo Villari, president of the City of Science in Naples, highlighted the longstanding efforts of China and Italy in scientific and technological cooperation, noting that the two countries have managed to reach approximately 10 agreements each year during the annual Innovation Week, which was held on Nov. 26-28 this year.

"Science has no borders and should benefit all of humanity," he said in an interview with Xinhua, "Climate change, sustainability and digitalization are potential areas that both countries can further enhance collaboration in the future."

China's role in combating climate change is pivotal, according to Gianmaria Sannino, an expert from the Division for Climate Change and Air Quality at Italy's National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development. He stated that with its resources and strong mobilization capabilities, China could drive significant global progress in addressing climate change.

"Both Italy and China have long coastlines and have conducted extensive oceanographic studies. We could collaborate to advance emission reductions through solutions like offshore energy," Sannino told Xinhua.

"Sustainability is a very fruitful collaborative research area between Italy and China," said Alessandro Simeone, associate professor from the Department of Management and Production Engineering, Polytechnic of Turin (Politecnico di Torino).

Both sides can also leverage technologies like digitalization and AI to develop human-centered products that improve life and work for older generations, as many countries, including China and Italy, are facing the challenge of an aging population, Simeone added.