Italy focuses on quality at Shanghai Technology Fair

(AGI) Beijing, April 11 - Italy will focus on quality at the Fourth China (Shanghai) International Technology Fair, where it will be guest of honour. The fair, which runs from Apr. 21 to 23, will showcase top Italian industrial products. These will include leading Made in Italy technology companies such as Ansaldo Energia, which has set up a joint venture with Shanghai Electric, Finmeccanica Helicopters, Italian Aerospace Network. There will also be less well-known names that are still recognised in the sector, such as CNH Industrial and Bonfiglioli. A team of 30 research consortia led by the Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research will present smart city projects, the theme of the 2010 Shanghai Expo. The Environment ministry will discuss environmental protection cooperation between Italy and China with Chinese leaders. Safeguarding the environment is one of the four packages agreed by Italy and China in 2014, along with food safety, health and urbanisation. A fifth package on aerospace was added last year. The fair will bring "attention to bear on Shanghai's technological development, research and evolution in a modern economy in which services count for more than the industries, even in the research and development sector," said the Consul General of Italy in Shanghai Stefano Beltrame. The gross domestic product of the city and province of Shanghai, which has 25 million people, was equal to 350 billion euros, higher than many sovereign states, such as South Africa. The city was highly ambitious as it had "once been one of the capitals of Chinese manufacturing and is now aiming to become one of the capitals of research and innovation not just in China, but in the world". Italy's opportunity to be a guest of honour at the fair, said Mr Beltrame, "means that all those companies already operating in China, that have never systematically presented themselves as being Italian, can now present contemporary Italian technology". The fair represented "a convergence of interests" between China, which needed to invest in modernising its industry, and Italy, which has advanced technology and is seeking investment. It would require Italy to "seriously commit to lengthy relations with China," a complex country in terms of size and cultural characteristics. The fair would also be an opportunity to put the concept of "do it with Italy" to the test. "China wants to become a great world power. Italy has the technology. If we work together we can both achieve our objectives," he said. In order to do so, there had to be a focus on quality, concluded Mr Beltrame. The first objective was to demonstrate the impact of Italian technology and its strong points. "Putting together all the products Italy manufactures, showing that Italy produces everything from trains to lasers, and demonstrating the overall impact of Italian technology would already generate an immediate result." (AGI). .