by Gianni Bulian
The meeting of the Joint Government Committee Italy –China (Beijing, 13 November 2006)
The second meeting of the Joint Government committee Italy-China took place in Beijing. On the 13 November 2006.The closing ceremony was attended by the Vice Premier of the Italian government and Minister of foreign affairs, Massimo D’Alema and on the Chinese side, the Minister of foreign affairs, Li Zhaoxing.
The members of the two delegations enjoyed a deep and fruitful exchange on the subjects of progress and future bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. The relationships between Italy and China are developing constantly and this cooperation is being continuously enriched by new initiatives. Both parties, in the light of the recent visit to China by the Italian premier Romano Prodi, agreed to the consolidation of existing initiatives through the Italy-China Government Committee. This has demonstrated itself to be an efficient instrument of direction and coordination. The two countries have redoubled their commitment to identify the appropriate solutions to existing problems, through dialogue and action, based on the principles of equality and reciprocity.
Collaboration and cultural exchange
The cultural sector represents a fundamental pillar of the bilateral cooperation between Italy and China: this has been demonstrated by the Agreement and the MoU on cultural cooperation between the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and the Chinese State Administration for Cultural Heritage. These agreements signed in Beijing 20 January 2006 and the following technical meetings, outlined the project of the “Cultural Programme” defined during the meeting between the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage (MiBAC) and the Chinese (SACH) held in Beijing the 29 September 2006, including the following points:
- Information exchange and collaboration for the prevention of illegal trafficking of cultural heritage and the creation of a database for items of cultural heritage.
- The creation of a permanent training system in the sectors of: administration/management of cultural heritage; restoration, maximization of cultural heritage appreciation; teaching staff in the field of restoration; Italian language teaching.
3 Collaboration in the museum sector;
4 Reinforcement of bilateral coordination, especially relating to sectors of applied technology and digital technology.
5 Cooperation in specific restoration projects.
6 Cooperation in the conservation of Urban centres, historical and contemporary, and modern and contemporary architecture.
7 The launch of the initiative to present the candidacy of “the Silk Road” as a site for UNESCO protection.
8 The establishment of an Italo-Chinese Centre for cultural heritage.
The reinforcement of bilateral cooperation in the sectors of technology and IT for the control systems and protection of the Imperial Canal Beijing- Hangzhou, and for a national census of cultural heritage, are some of the projects planned for the immediate future. Both projects are to be supported by the Galileo system. Cooperation has also been planned for eight restoration projects using non-invasive analyses and standards for the conservation of cultural heritage. In particular the Boddhisattva of one thousand arms in Dazu, and the study of the conservation of the wall paintings in the cave n.465 in Mogao in Dunhuang.
Training and education
The cooperation and exchange in the sector of training and education are important elements for the promotion and reinforcement of the bilateral relationships. The initiative of 2 October 2006 is part of the bilateral agreement that will allow Chinese students to obtain a visa for the study of the Italian language and to begin the course at pre-selected Universities.
The diffusion of the two languages has an important role in the development of bilateral relations and the friendship between the two peoples. Italy and China propose to focus on this aspect through the promotion of the two languages within the two countries.
The institution within the University of Rome - the Confucius institute and the launch of the Italo-Chinese Campus in Shanghai, represent more concrete solutions to the demand for joint initiatives in this field.
The Italo-Chinese centre for engineering, planned for the Chinese University of Tongji represents an excellent resource in the field of professional training for creativity, design and collaboration with the commercial sector.
It will also be an excellent resource of creativity for small and medium-sized firms.
