Nine agreements will be signed in the presence of President Hu Jintao and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi during Hu's visit to Italy from July 5-7.

The most significant of the agreements will cover bilateral cooperation in tourism, culture and environmental protection.

"The visit of President Hu Jintao to Italy will enhance decisively the strategic partnership between our two countries," said Italy's Ambassador to China Riccardo Sessa.

It is the first state visit of a Chinese president to Italy since 1999.

"It is a visit we are really looking forward to," he said in a written statement to China Daily. "What we expect from the visit is fostering bilateral relations in the political, economic and cultural sectors, and addressing international isues of common concern."

Many business deals will be finalized during the visit in which a purchasing mission of about 300 Chinese companies will meet their Italian counterparts.

Commercial agreements on trade and investment cooperation will range from high-tech products, textile machinery, financial services and automotive to luxury goods, food and beverage. Sessa said this will greatly boost trade ties between Italy and China.

Trade between the two countries is mainly in the fields of machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical machinery and equipment, textiles, instruments and leather. High-tech products are experiencing a significant increase.

Trade volume between China and Italy was $38.3 billion last year, an increase of 22 percent on 2007, according to the Italian embassy in Beijing.

Although commercial exchanges registered a temporary decline in the first five months this year due to the economic crisis, Sessa said it is not affecting the long-term trend of bilateral trade relations.

"Soon they will resume their fast pace," he said.

The ambassador said the upcoming G8 summit and outreach sessions in the Italian city of L'Aquila will be an important test.

The summit's top agenda includes the global financial crisis, climate change, developing countries, food security and non-proliferation, according to Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, Xinhua reported.

Sessa said that since taking over the G8 presidency, Italy has aimed at promoting an inclusive approach, regularly consulting with all relevant partners, including China, on strategic decisions.

"Bearing this in mind, the summit will provide an opportunity to build a structured relationship with emerging countries. Thus we expect from China a significant contribution to debates and positions that will be adopted in the summit," Sessa said.

Sessa, who described the China-Italy relationship as "mature and very dynamic", said President Hu's visit will be "the ideal forerunner" for activities to celebrate the 40th anniversary of bilateral relations in 2010.

"We really appreciated the solidarity shown by the Chinese authorities and citizens in the wake of the earthquake that shook central Italy in April," he said.

"This sympathetic response fully matched the support that Italy gave China after the Sichuan earthquake in 2008."

After Italy's worst earthquake in three decades hit its central Abruzzo region, many Chinese people and government bodies sent messages of condolence to Italy's embassy in Beijing. Overseas Chinese in Rome collected more than 70,000 euros ($98,000) for quake relief, and the China Red Cross Foundation offered $30,000 in emergency aid to its counterpart in Italy.

Source: China Daily