On the evening of the 20th, President Xi Jinping met with Italian President Mattarella in Beijing to jointly meet with representatives from both countries attending the China-Italy Cultural Cooperation Mechanism Conference and the China-Italy University Presidents Dialogue.

Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Xueren photo

On the evening of the 20th, President Xi Jinping met with Italian President Mattarella in Beijing to jointly meet with representatives from both countries attending the China-Italy Cultural Cooperation Mechanism Conference and the China-Italy University Presidents Dialogue.

Xinhua News Agency reporter Ding Haitao photo.

The two heads of state listened to reports from their respective representatives on the relevant developments in Sino-Italian cultural and university cooperation.

Xi Jinping pointed out that the millennia-old history of friendly exchanges between China and Italy has nurtured the continuous cultural exchanges between the two countries. The ancient Silk Road pioneered the exchange between the East and the West, Marco Polo opened the window for the Western world to understand China, and generations of envoys continued to write the chapters of friendship between the two nations, setting a model for the world's different civilizations to engage in equal dialogue and common development. In recent years, the Sino-Italian Cultural Cooperation Mechanism has promoted the mutual organization of cultural and tourism years between the two countries, initiated the UNESCO World Heritage Site friendship model, and facilitated extensive academic and youth exchanges as well as joint research in emerging disciplines among universities, achieving fruitful results.

Xi Jinping emphasized that the world today has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. As two ancient civilizations, China and Italy should take action, jointly advocating for cultivating people through culture, nurturing the body with virtue, observing the fate of humanity with a broad humanistic spirit, transcending barriers and conflicts with an inclusive mindset, and uniting development efforts with a vision of harmony and coexistence, so that the beacon of civilization illuminates the righteous path of human progress. He hopes that both sides will work together to encourage more enlightened individuals to become practitioners of Sino-Italian friendly cooperation, promoters of mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations, and participants in building a community with a shared future for mankind, contributing to world peace and development.

Mattarella positively evaluated the significant contributions made by the Italy-China cultural cooperation mechanism and the university presidents' dialogue in promoting mutual understanding, friendship, and cooperation between the peoples of Italy and China. He noted that both Italy and China are ancient civilizations with splendid cultures, and their peoples appreciate and respect each other. The story of Marco Polo's interactions with China serves as a reflection of the mutual learning and mutual appreciation between Eastern and Western civilizations. Both sides should draw on past experiences, carry forward the tradition of friendship, build more bridges for cultural exchanges, strengthen unity, oppose confrontation, and provide a solid foundation and support for the development of comprehensive strategic partnership between Italy and China.

On the evening of the day, President Xi Jinping in Beijing met with Italian President Mattarella to jointly greet the representatives attending the China-Italy Cultural Cooperation Mechanism Conference and the China-Italy University Presidents Dialogue. This was the photo session for the two heads of state with the representatives before the meeting.

Xinhua News Agency reporter Shen Hong photo

Before the meeting, the two heads of state joined the representatives from both sides for a group photo.

Wang Yi participated in the above activities.