VENICE, Italy: Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao said here on Tuesday that the Chinese government supports the friendly exchange and cooperation between the Veneto region of Italy and China's Jiangsu province including Suzhou City.

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　　When meeting with the president of the Veneto region, Giancarlo Galan, Hu said regional exchanges have constituted an important part of bilateral relations as Venice, capital of the Veneto region, and Suzhou, a city in Jiangsu province, forged a sister city relationship in 1980, and the Veneto region and Jiangsu province established their sister province relations in 1998.

　　The Veneto region is one of the most industrialized zones in Europe, where many enterprises have their own unique products, technologies and management know-how, Hu said.

　　He expressed the hope that the Veneto government would continue to promote and support cooperation between Italian and Chinese enterprises, and that the two sides would further boost their cooperation in tourism and culture.

　　Speaking on the same occasion, Galan said that with the rapid development of China, trade between the Veneto region and China had increased tremendously, and the that two sides have also expanded their cooperation in tourism in recent years.

　　The Chinese president, who arrived in Italy on Sunday for a state visit,will attend the outreach session of the Group of Eight (G8) summit scheduled for Thursday in the central Italian city of L'Aquila.