From 18th to 20th September 2023, Mrs. Shi Ling, Vice President of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA), paid a friendly visit to Italy by heading a CPIFA delegation. She met respectively with Mr. Romano Prodi, former Italian Prime Minister and former President of the European Commission, Mr. Ettore Licheri, Vice President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Senate, H.E. Alberto Bradamini, former Italian Ambassador to China, and Mr. Marco di Liddo, Director of the Center for International Studies. Vice President Shi Ling highlighted the significances of China-Italy relations, China-Europe relations and the high-quality development of Belt and Road cooperation for China and Italy in the spirit of the Silk Road. She also elaborated on the core spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, Chinese modernization and China’s economic and social developments and exchanged views with the Italian side over other international and regional issues of common interest. Both sides also fully exchanged views over further cooperation between the institutions and closer people-to-people exchanges.