TRENTO, Italy, May 24 (Xinhua) -- China-related discussions stood out across sessions on green transition, artificial intelligence and cooperation potential at the Trento Festival of Economics which concluded here on Sunday.
Founded in 2006, the Trento Festival of Economics is one of Italy's leading public forums on economic issues, with recent editions attracting tens of thousands of participants.
European scholars, economists and former officials discussed China's resilience, industrial strength, innovation drive and cooperation potential amid rising global uncertainty, at the forum this year.
"China is an important part of the global economy," Marco Buti, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa Chair at the European University Institute and former senior economic official of the European Commission, told Xinhua.
Buti said China has shown remarkable growth and innovation capacity. In a more complex global environment, China can contribute to green transition and global public goods.
Massimo D'Alema, former Italian prime minister and president of the Italianieuropei Foundation, said China's growth has become an important reality in the international economic landscape.
Giovanni Tria, former Italian minister of economy and finance, said China's long-term emphasis on education and talent development has helped put the country at the forefront in a number of technological fields.
China's talent pool, industrial systems and financial resources are important structural factors supporting its medium- and long-term resilience, Tria said.
He Zhiyi, dean of the Global Institute for the Advancement of Industry and Technology at Nankai University, said China and the EU have industrial strengths and should strengthen complementarity by using artificial intelligence, big data and green technologies to upgrade traditional industries.
Green transition was also considered as a key area for cooperation. Tria said that for China, green transition is not simply about changing energy production, but an overall economic transformation involving production, consumption and capital renewal.
Buti said Europe and China can work as partners in climate and green transition.
Wang Yang, vice president and chair professor at the University of Hong Kong, said artificial intelligence and the digital economy are becoming important dimensions for understanding China's resilience, creating new space for China-Europe cooperation in AI education, industrial applications, digital economy rules and technology governance.
