On November 15th, Xie Guoyi, the Italian Ambassador to China, came to visit Nankai and gave a lecture on the theme of "To the 50th Anniversary of China-Italy Relations " to teachers and students of our school, and exchanged ideas with them on topics such as promoting Sino-Italian relations in a new era.
Cao Xuetao, President of Nankai University, gave a welcome speech in English. Cao Xuetao said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties 48 years ago, China and Italy had been adhering to political mutual trust, deepening pragmatic cooperation, and constantly promoting new progress in China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership. Nankai University was one of the beneficiaries and participants. He hoped that the ambassador's visit would be an opportunity to further promote and deepen exchanges and cooperation with the Italian science and education and provide more talents for China-Italy relations and bilateral exchanges.
In his speech, Xie Guoyi used the similar stories of "Romeo and Juliet" and "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" to vividly describe the profound historical and cultural origins of China and Italy. He said that China and Italy were two countries that had a long and splendid civilization history and knew how to "know history and know the future." The cultural commonality in the historical background of the two sides was an important nutrient for promoting mutual respect, peace and friendship between China and Italy to form a comprehensive strategic partnership in the past 48 years. Facing the 21st century, China had entered a new era and Italy had formed a new government.The two “cultural superpowers” in the midst of changes both had experienced some challenges, such as the rise of unilateralism and trade protectionism; however, they also faced good opportunities at the same time, so we must strengthen our confidence in free trade and international cooperation based on the equality mechanism, seek common ground while reserving differences, and work together to look to the future.
Xie Guoyi mentioned that this year marked the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up and the high-level political exchanges between China and Italy had become more and more close which was a milestone for both countries. In the past 40 years, China had become the world's second largest economy and a powerful promoter and beneficiary of globalization. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s “open world economy” put forward at the 2016 G20 Summit in Hangzhou was the development goal and direction. The China International Import Expo, held in Shanghai this month, was also playing an active role. China and Italy should further deepen the cultural ties and seize the opportunity of the “Belt and Road” construction to work together on the four key words of “culture, innovation, quality and beauty”. “‘Quality’ meant a high-quality product and a high quality of life; and ‘beauty’ had a richer connotation, which symbolized sustainable development, food safety, green technology, clean energy, intelligent design, etc.”
Regarding the Sino-Italian relationship toward the 50th anniversary, Xie Guoyi believed that it could not be from the willingness of the Chinese and Italian people to maintain friendship and the correct political vision, and it cannot be separated from the various resources shared by both sides which were also the foundation for next 50 years.Among them, human resources were very important and indispensable elements. Colleges and universities were the cradle of attracting and cultivating talents, which were also the reason for his visit. Nankai University was a famous Chinese university and history called for this school to contribute to the positive promotion of Sino-Italian relations.
At the end of the speech, Xie Guoyi encouraged young students to broaden their international views and continue positive actions. He also further exchanged ideas with students on cross-regional cooperation, “Belt and Road” construction, international cultural exchanges, and his personal experiences in Afghanistan.
According to reports, the exchanges and cooperation between Nankai University and Italy can be traced back to the 1980s. Today, Nankai University maintains close contacts with the University of Rome, the University of Bologna and many other famous Italian universities, and many important politicians including Romano Prodi, the former president of the European Commission, the former Prime Minister of Italy and the honorary professor of Nankai University, carrying out multi-field and multi-level international exchange and cooperation. In 2017, Nankai University opened its Italian major and was the first in a comprehensive university in China.
Ettore Francesco SEQUI, born in 1956, is an Italian diplomat who has served as Italian Ambassador to China since July 2015. After completing the studies in political science and multilateral consultation, he entered the Economic Department of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and began his diplomatic career: he ever served as consul of the Italian Embassy in Iran, a member of the Italian Permanent Mission to the United Nations, and the vice-head of the Italian Embassy in Albania (Tirana), the Italian ambassador to Afghanistan, the Special Representative for the European Uniondelegation to Afghanistan and Pakistan, the head of the European Union delegation to Albania, and the head of the Italian Foreign Minister’s Office. Xie Guoyi is fluent in English, French, Spanish, and he also knows Arabic and was awarded the Medal of the Republic of Italy. In addition, he was awarded the title by the Queen of Isabel of Spain and the King Juan Carlos and won the Giuseppe Dossetti Peace Prize.
