Prato, 26 June 2024 – “I am truly happy with this meeting because, as President of the Province of Prato, I firmly believe in the need to renew and strengthen the exchange relations between Prato and China, since our territory is home to one of the largest and most industrious Chinese communities, which represents an inestimable value from both a cultural and economic point of view – With these words the President Simone Calamai welcomed this morning to Palazzo Banci Buonamici a delegation from the Chinese Communist Party, led by the deputy general director Li Shijiaduring their institutional visit to Italy.
A first meeting with the delegation from Zhejiang Province which had the aim of encouraging the strengthening of dialogue between the two countries. Many topics were touched upon during the visit, from the governance experience of Prato and its local communities to the exchanges of the Prato area with China and the economic and commercial cooperation with the Province of Zhejiang. Deputy director Li Shijia expressed gratitude for the welcome received, underlining the importance that the territory attributes to the Chinese community. “It is important for us to consolidate relations in this direction – declared President Calamai – so much so that in the month of March we decided to carry out an institutional trip to the municipality of Wenzhou, with which we have been linked by a twinning pact since 2002 Numerous exchange opportunities arose from that meeting, starting from the Wenzhou International Fair (WIIE 2024) which will be held in November and which will see the participation of some companies from Prato – he concluded – We offer our total and full availability to start mutual exchanges with new projects and collaborations in the cultural, tourism and economic fields”. The visit ended with the traditional exchange of gifts.
