Panda D’Oro Awards 2024: the Best of Italian Business in China

With the beautiful and elegant background of the W Hotel in Shanghai, the thirteenth edition of the Panda D’Oro Gala Awards took place on June 15th. This was a record-breaker edition that saw the participation of nearly 700 people, among companies, entrepreneurs, members and friends of the Chamber as well as representatives of Italian and Chinese institutions, 80 applications to the award categories and 35 winning companies.

The event, organized by the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce (CICC), with the patronage of the Embassy of Italy to the P.R.C., and the Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai, and in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institutes of Beijing and Shanghai, saw the presence of many VIP guests, lead by the Ambassador of Italy to P.R.C., H.E. Massimo Ambrosetti, accompanied by the Consul General of Italy in Shanghai, Tiziana D'Angelo, the first Counsellor at the Embassy of Italy to the P.R.C., Marco Midolo, the director of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA/ICE) for China and Mongolia, Francesco Pensabene, the director of ITA/ICE in Shanghai, Augusto Di Giacinto and the directors of the Italian Cultural Institutes in Beijing and Shanghai, Federico Roberto Antonelli and Francesco D’Arelli.

The Chinese institutions present were the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Invest Shanghai, Hongkou government and CCPIT Shanghai.

The theme of the night was "Marco Polo - 700 years later": to celebrate the 700 years after the death of Marco Polo all the guests enjoyed a live and virtual preview of some of the works the will be displayed during the exhibition "A journey of knowledge. The travels of Marco Polo and its legacy between East and West" that will open in Beijing in July.

The ceremony was opened by H.E. Massimo Ambrosetti, who expressed his sincere appreciation for the work done by CICC and shared a message of support to the Italian business community in China.

“Today's event comes at a particularly dynamic stage in the relationship between Italy and China. The China-Italy Chamber of Commerce plays an important role in strengthening the bilateral relationship. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for the work carried out by the Chamber in support of our companies in a strategic but at the same time complex and competitive market such as China and to assure that all Italian institutions in China will continue to provide maximum support to Italian companies operating in the Chinese market” – Massimo Ambrosetti, Ambassador of Italy to P.R.C.

CICC Chairman, Lorenzo Riccardi, followed by delivering a speech, where he welcomed all participants, thanking the Ambassador, Consul General and all the institutions, both Italian and Chinese, who attended the event and for the constant support given to CICC and the companies. Riccardi also highlighted the importance of the 700th Anniversary of Marco Polo’s death as a symbol of international relations and cultural exchanges between China and Italy.

“I am very pleased that this year our most important event is dedicated to the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo’s death. This is a symbol of international relations, highlighting the importance of Italy in cultural exchanges and the history of economic relations with China. Today China is the largest market in Asia for Italy. The goal of our association is to promote business relations and we want to do this with institutions, entrepreneurs and the thousands of people who work for our members, whom we thank.” -  Lorenzo Riccardi, CICC Chairman.

The main stars of the evening were the companies that participated in the award competition! This year’s winners have been awarded according to their performances in 2023 in the following categories:

1. Panda D’Oro Award

2. Destination Italy Award

3. Service Provider Award

4. Innovation Award

5. Italian Excellence Award

6. Italian Taste Award

7. ESG Award

8. Turnaround Award

9. Marco Polo Award – East to West

10. Marco Polo Award – West to East

The Turnaround Award was the first prize assigned during the night which awarded the companies that successfully faced a particular critical moment, achieving greater stability and profitable results. The winners of this category were: Flamma, Fluid-O-Tech, Modula and Zambon.

Right after, Intesa Sanpaolo, Jas, Goglio Tianjin and Omlog won the Service Provider Award for their great support to the Italian companies located in China.

For the category Destination Italy Award, two companies distinguished themselves in 2023 for their promotion of Italy as a tourism, sports and cultural destination: Mammamia! and Technoalpin.

Campari, Ferrero and Good Italy triumphed in the Italian Taste Award category as ambassadors of Italian food and wine excellence in the Chinese market. This award was followed by the Italian Excellence Award won by Alfaromeo, Natuzzi and New Crazy Colors which were the most effective companies in representing the excellence of Made in Italy in Luxury, Fashion, Lifestyle, Design and Retail sectors.

Right after, two awards dedicated to Chinese companies were assigned: Bama Tea, Veneta Cucine and Wenzhou Noble won the Marco Polo Award West to East, to express the recognition to the companies that have done the most to deepen the cooperation with Italian companies. The Marco Polo Award East to West rewarded instead those Chinese companies for their investment in Italy: Buy Quickly E-Commerce, Envirovest and Weichai triumphed in this category.

The ESG Award prized the companies that have distinguished themselves for sustainable development and implementing strategies which had a real impact on business, society and the environment. Winners of this category were: Generali China Insurance, Kangri Metok, Manuli Ryco and Snam.

The second to last award of the night was the Innovation Award, given to those Italian companies that during the previous year had invested most in innovation, research and technological development. This award was assigned to: Diasorin, Fiat Powertrain, Mecc alte and Santoni.

The Panda D'Oro 2024 Award, the iconic award of the evening dedicated to the Italian companies that invested the most in the Chinese market, was delivered to Piovan, UFI, Zoppas, while the Panda D'Oro 2024 Award for the large group investments was handed out to ENI and Grimaldi.

Throughout the whole awards ceremony, many performances were held: the Shanghai Nova Sinfonietta Orchestra, conducted by Italian conductor Roberto Fiore, and mezzo-soprano Valentina Volpe Andreazza, Chinese Soprano Li Mengshi and Tenore Guo Mingxin delighted the guests with a live opera music performances. Also, the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre brought to the stage an enchanting piece from the Kunqu Opera.

During the night, the chefs of the Italian Chef Federation in China also took the stage to present the delicious menu prepared for the event which was paired with the finest Italian wines. The dinner was appreciated by all the guests and CICC delivered a certificate to all the chefs who contributed to preparing the menu: Fabio Falanga, Alberto Donagrandi, Eugenio Iraci, Vittorio Marzullo, Marino D’Antonio, Davide Gessa, Marco Barbieri and Giuseppe Tino.

A huge thanks to the CICC Shanghai Office Team for its efforts in organizing the event which resulted in a wonderful night for all the attendees.

Click the link to check out the pictures!