On 29 October 2013, Prime Minister Enrico Letta of Italy met in Rome with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Letta expressed that Italy and China are both ancient civilizations and have always understood and supported each other. Italy takes China as a priority for its diplomacy and foreign economic cooperation and is committed to deepening Italy-China relations and expanding trade and investment. Italy looks forward to China actively joining in the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in 2014 and the World Expo 2015 to be held in Italy.

Wang Yi expressed that China views Italy as an important cooperative partner and a positive force for China-EU relations. The most striking feature of China-Italy relations is stability. Both sides have always respected each other and accommodated each other's core concerns to push for sustained development of all-dimensional cooperation. China-Italy relations are facing important opportunities of inheriting the past and forging ahead into the future. Hope both sides will enhance political mutual trust and keep close high-level exchanges. Both sides should, linking China's "Four New-Formed Modernization" with Italy's industrial advantages, uplift the level of mutually beneficial cooperation so as to consolidate and explore more stable China-Italy relations at higher levels and in wider areas. China will actively support Italy for successfully hosting the ASEM Summit and the World Expo.