Chinese and Italian firms active in the innovation sector are gathering in Shanghai and Nanjing over the next few days at the "Italy for Innovators 2011" program.

One hundred Italian firms coming from all over Italy and more than 300 Chinese entrepreneurs have met in Shanghai and Nanjing with the aim to create commercial and financial partnerships in innovation, with the possibility to promote the internationalization of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Minister of Science and Technology of People's Republic of China, Wan Gang, and Minister for Innovation and Public Administration of Italy, Renato Brunetta, are the protagonists of the program, which aims to boost relations between the two countries in the innovation sector.

Italy is trying to spread the idea that the so-called "Bel Paese" is not only the country of fashion, of luxus, of quality of life, of design, but one of its major driving forces lies in its innovation throughout academic research centers, scientific parks, the numerous "industrial districts" which, like the SMEs, are one of the main economic characteristic of Italy.

Both Wan and Brunetta have underscored the level of cooperation reached in the last months between China and Italy in the innovation sector, which they consider to be the most intense and fruitful between China and any other foreign partner so far.

As testimony to the cooperation, since the Intergovernmental Agreement was signed by Premier Wen Jiabao and Prime Minister Berlusconi three centers have been created: The Sino-Italian Center for Technological Transfer, with premises in Beijing and Milan; the Sino-Italian Design and Innovation Center, based in Rome and Shanghai; and the Sino-Italian e-Government center, launched Monday morning, which will function in Shenzhen and in Turin.