According to the XII Annual Report of the Italy-China Foundation, Italy's trade deficit shrank from $ 12.15 billion in 2018, to $ 11.9 billion in 2019 to $ 10.7 billion in 2020.
Italian exports to China between January and April 2021 grew by 55% compared to the same period in 2020. The products that recorded a better performance were textiles, leather items, chemicals and metal items.
At the end of 2019, 405 Chinese groups and 760 Italian companies owned by Chinese companies and Hong Kong multinationals were present in Italy with 43,700 employees and a turnover of over 25.2 billion euros. The most affected sectors are manufacturing (machinery, rubber and plastic, IT, electronic and optical products), services, commerce, construction and production of electricity from photovoltaic sources. Most of the Chinese companies in Italy are concentrated in Lombardy, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and Veneto. Greenfield investments prevail for commercial or service activities, while Chinese companies prefer to buy pre-existing companies for manufacturing activities.
Also in 2019, Chinese companies with Italian participation were about 1,700, with 170,000 employees and a turnover of about 27.5 billion euros. Less than 500 companies with Italian capital are present in Hong Kong, with almost 20,000 employees and a turnover of 9.5 billion euros.
The report "Exporting the Dolce Vita" was also recently published by the Confindustria Study Center in collaboration with Unicredit and with the contribution of Sace, Netcomm and the Manlio Masi Foundation - National Observatory for International Affairs and Trade. According to this report, Italian exports have a potential margin of increase of 82 billion euros. The first country in terms of potential among emerging markets is China with 3.9 billion euros of possible additional exports and greater room for improvement in the medium to long term. Barbara Beltrame Giacomello, Vice President of Confindustria for Internationalization, indicated as the next challenges for the growth of Italian exports in the world: "strengthen digital sales channels, stabilize international relations and preserve and increase the recognition of Made in Italy ".
Silk Council Press Office