China seals 2.25 bln euro business deals with Italy

On Thursday, the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signed business deals with the Italians worth 2.25 billion euros (3.15 billion dollars). The Deals were signed in the presence of Wen and the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The contracts include solar power and broadband Internet projects. The two leaders agreed to boost trade between their countries to 100 billion dollars by 2015. This is an important step for Italy, who critics say is lagging behind other countries, such as Germany, in the exploitation of the Chinese market. Wen made his trip to Italy after a unsuccessful trip to Brussels where China was pressed to revalue the yuan. The Chinese claim that such an action would bankrupt many Chinese businesses and create unrest. The Europeans, however, claim that such an action would right global trade imbalances. Italy largely ignored the issue on Thursday, allowing the negotiations with the Chinese to be successful.

Szymon Kesek