Milan ready to follow lead of Shanghai

China will present to the world "the history, present condition and especially the idea of sustainable development for the future of its agriculture", says Wang Jinzhen, vice-chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and commissioner-general of the China Pavilion.

A busy program of activities is planned for the pavilion, from cultural exchanges to meetings to consolidate collaboration between China and Italy.

A second pavilion, the China Corporation Joint Pavilion, has attracted major company sponsors from China and will use the theme "China seeds", organizers say. It will showcase Chinese enterprises' sustainable development solutions in six exhibition sections.

China Vanke Co, a company principally engaged in property development, plans a third pavilion. The Vanke Pavilion will use the concept of shitang or dining hall, a traditional place that continues to be part of today's Chinese society, based on the expo's theme of "Feeding the planet, energy for life", organizers say.

Pisapia says Milan has attracted 1 billion euros ($1.34 billion) from the participating countries and 400 million euros from individual companies. "Compared with 1.3 billion euros of our public investment in the world expo, we are already profitable," he says.

Pisapia says 147 countries have signed up to take part, and 56 pavilions are planned at the expo site northwest of Milan in the municipalities of Rho and Pero.

The mayor says the expo will have long-lasting effects on China-Italy ties, which are already close. This year, Shanghai and Milan are marking their 35th anniversary as sister cities.

The mayor notes that Milan has a huge Chinese community, which has contributed to the city's development. In the Milan metropolitan region, there are about 140,000 ethnic Chinese.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who took office in February, visited the Shanghai expo in 2010 as mayor of Florence, and during a three-day visit in China in June, he helped promote Expo Milano 2015.

Pisapia says while discussing their expos, officials of Shanghai and Milan also have touched upon the mounting challenges the world faces as urbanization and industrialization spread, including climate change, population growth and energy security.

The mayor says it is very important to use the expo to learn from each other on issues like waste management, traffic and congestion, and green development in cities.

The mayor also says Milan welcomes Chinese investment.

Italy is China's fifth-largest trading partner in Europe, and China is Italy's top trading partner in Asia. As Italy's economic hub, Milan has long played a big role in maintaining robust economic relations between the two countries.

Many Chinese companies set up their primary offices in Milan when they entered the Italian market－35 large Chinese companies, such as Bank of China Ltd and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, have set up shop in Milan.

Pisapia says that the expo will be a golden opportunity for Chinese companies to learn more about and establish themselves in Italy and the European Union.

A good example of working together, Pisapia says, was when a Chinese business delegation complained to him about their difficulty in obtaining visas on a visit to Italy. During a visit to Beijing, Pisapia submitted the complaints to visa officers at the Italian embassy, and procedures were simplified.

With Chinese investors realizing the importance of Milan, Air China boosted the frequency of flights from three a week to daily flights in 2013.

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