Italy Meets China #1: How to Do Business in Yunnan Province

The webinar “Italy Meets China: Yunnan Focus” was held online on June 13th, 2022. The webinar, organized by the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce, was the first of a series of webinars aimed at promoting Italian business in China and strengthening commercial cooperation with local partners in various key territories of China.

In fact, the CICC will shortly launch a calendar of upcoming webinars that will be organized under the format “Italy meets China”, involving both institutional and corporate partners. 

Starting from an overview of the Yunnan Province, using our new tool "China-Italy Business Map" as a reference, this first webinar touched on concrete topics such as incentives to support businesses, opportunities for new collaborations with Italian companies in the region and insights into the local business environment. Some representatives, from the local Italian business community, were also invited to share their experiences on doing business in the region, with a focus on future opportunities and challenges.

The webinar opened with a speech delivered by Mr Paolo Bazzoni, Chairman of the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce, who first of all thanked the Consulate General of Italy in Chongqing and the Yunnan Foreign Affairs Office for the strong support given to the event. Chairman Bazzoni pointed out that as a large province in southwestern China, Yunnan has its own unique economic and industrial layout. It is a region that is sometimes little known but which is attractive for Italian companies and therefore for Italian products and services. Yunnan's distinctive industries, such as the agricultural, pharmaceutical, tourism and cultural industries are all "treasures to be explored".

The event then continued with a speech by Mr Guido Bilancini, Consul General of Italy in Chongqing. Mr Bilancini recalled that Yunnan is one of the most important recipients of the activity carried out by the Consulate General in Chongqing. The Consul General expressed the hope that through the "Italy Meets China: Yunnan Focus" initiative, more significant promotional activities could be launched in collaboration with the CICC and the Yunnan Foreign Affairs Office.

Afterwards, the CICC Vice President Mr Gianluca Luisi, as representative of the Chamber for the Southwest Region, offered a comprehensive analysis of the development of Italian companies in the region through the projects and activities carried out by CICC in the Southwest. Mr Luisi pointed out that the opportunities for Italian enterprises in the main fields of collaboration in Yunnan province can be explored through the joint promotion by the parties present today.

Mr Lorenzo Riccardi, CICC Treasurer, then presented the China-Italy Business Map, the new powerful tool thanks to which Members of the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce are now able to identify new business opportunities and counterparts and learn more about our membership base.

The next speaker was Mr Lei Lin, Level IV Division Rank Official of CCPIT Yunnan Sub-Council, who began his speech by focusing on the close cooperation established by Yunnan with Italy for the joint construction of the "Belt and Road Initiative”. Mr Lei Lin then cited some economic data on the province: in 2020, the total value of Yunnan's foreign trade exceeded US$30 billion; furthermore, there are 26 investment projects in Yunnan Province with a contractual use of foreign capital of approximately US$10.82.

Mr Lei also provided an operational guide for entrepreneurs who are interested in settling down and conducting business in the Southwest through an overview of the business functions of CCPIT.

Successful case studies of Italian companies in Yunnan were then presented by three CICC Members who shared many useful tips to online participants:
• Ms Sara Zago, CEO Kunming Bilian Yiju Trade, Promoter for Yunnan of CICC;
• Mr Diego Triboli, CEO of “La Cantina” Italian restaurant in Kunming;
• Mr Lorenzo Barbieri, CEO of “Eastern Leaves”, a company producing tee for the overseas market. 

The webinar ended with a Q&A session, during which Mr Zha Chaodeng, Level II Division rank official of Department of Commerce of Yunnan Province, and Mr Lei Lin, Level IV Division rank official of CCPIT Yunnan Sub-Council, answered the questions of the participants one by one.