Italy and Chinese Automaker Near Final Stage of Factory Deal

The Italian government’s negotiation with China’s state-owned Dongfeng Motor Group with regard to factory building in Italy has entered into the final stages, according to Reuters. Insiders reveal a prospect of the Rome government holding a minority stake in Dongfeng’s investment in Italy, a fruitful follow-up of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s visit to China at the end of July perceived by analysts.

Meloni also signed a three-year action plan with China’s Premier Li Qiang during her visit,  which includes six agreements in areas such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, industry, food safety, and education. She reiterated her call for more Chinese investment in Italy.

Dongfeng’s upcoming investment in Italy can be seen as a resumption of an abortive attempt by the Italian government earlier this March, when the latter expressed wishes to attract Chinese automakers to establish factories locally. Chinese companies such as BYD, Chery and Great Wall were reportedly on the list of potential recruits. The attempt was thwarted by EU’s then probe into Chinese EV car exports.

Italy’s goal of revitalizing its automotive industry is evidenced by its plan to reach an annual production of 1.3 million vehicles, announced at the beginning of this year. Currently, Italy has only one major automotive manufacturer, Stellantis, which produced about 750,000 vehicles in Italy last year, falling short of the annual target. Hence, the Italian government is casting its gaze on the Chinese automakers who have a reputation in high-quality automobile manufacturing. However, Stellantis is voicing its concern in losing to the Chinese competitors, with its CEO, Carlos Tavares, saying that the group might have to close some of its Italian factories. Well, if you are true proponents of liberalism as you said you were, competition should be welcomed, isn’t it?

Manufacturing Plant of Dongfeng

Moving onto China’s other partners-China’s import and export data for the first seven months of this year shows that the U.S. is only listed as the third largest trade partner of China, trailing behind ASEAN and EU. The total value of China’s goods trade was 24.83 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.2% year-on-year, with an expanding proportion of high-end exports.

Now buckle up for some statistics: In the past seven months, China’s trade with ASEAN totaled 3.92 trillion yuan, up 10.5%, accounting for 15.8% of China’s foreign trade total; trade with the EU totaled 3.22 trillion yuan, up 0.4%, accounting for 13%. Of this, exports to the EU were 2.1 trillion yuan, up 1.5%, while imports from the EU were 1.12 trillion yuan, down 1.5%; the trade surplus with the EU was 985.08 billion yuan, up 5.1%. Trade with the U.S. totaled 2.72 trillion yuan, up 4.1%, accounting for 11%. Of this, exports to the U.S. were 2.04 trillion yuan, up 5.1%, while imports from the U.S. were 683.91 billion yuan, up 1.2%; the trade surplus with the U.S. was 1.35 trillion yuan, up 7.2%.

In terms of export product structure, China exported 8.41 trillion yuan worth of electromechanical products in the first seven months, up 8.3%, accounting for 59% of the total export value. This includes automatic data processing equipment and components at 815.88 billion yuan, up 11.6%; integrated circuits at 640.91 billion yuan, up 25.8%; automobiles at 462.86 billion yuan, up 20.7%; and mobile phones at 454.74 billion yuan, down 1.3%.

Terminal of China

Enough of cold statistics, time for some heartwarming Olympics moments. Amid all the doping accusation at the Chinese team by some American athletes, at least one American football player, Tom Brady, is willing to publicly acknowledge the excellent performance of Chinese athletes. After Chinese divers,  Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi won the gold and silver medal respectively in the women’s 10m platform final with Quan winning a perfect 10 from the judges, Brady posted an instagram video, exalting both in English and Chinese “There are people beyond this person, and skies beyond this sky.”

Brady also wrote a long message in the post: “I am amazed by the incredible focus and determination of these athletes, with four years of preparation tested through five spectacular dives! Success is not accidental.”

At 46, Brady is a retired American professional football quarterback who had a 23-year career with the NFL teams, earning Super Bowl MVP five times and is widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.

Instagram Story of Brady