Bank of Communications (??"?"??), the 5^th biggest bank controlled by the Chinese government, has recently opened a branch in Rome, which will work as a financial bridge between China and Italy.

The Bank stands out for its profits: it made 7,61 billion dollars only in the first 9 months of 2016.

The leadership decided to open an Italian division for several strategic reasons. In fact, Italy is the second European manufacturing country (after Germany), it is the 5^th European commercial partner and it is among the main recipients of Chinese investments abroad. The Chinese government is determined to encourage foreign investments, supporting Chinese investors through adequate resources.

Li Ruiyu, the Chinese ambassador in Italy, during an interview with AgiChina, enthusiastically commented on the opening, stating that "the settlement of an Italian branch of Bank of Communications is an important example of the growing collaboration between Italy and China". Also the Italian ambassador in China, Mr Ettore Sequi, commented on the fact highlighting how "the Italian opening is a symbol of trust of Chinese government towards Italy".

Italy hosts today 6 branches of Chinese banks. In October 2015, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) doubled its presence in Italy, opening a branch in Rome after the established one in Milan. ICBC is the biggest bank in the world having more than 3 billion euros. assets. Other Chinese banks in the territory are the Bank of China and China Construction Bank.

Since the cooperation between Italy and China is definitely growing, the Italian premier Matteo Renzi has stated his will to support the Chinese initiative "One Belt One Road", the new Chinese development project devoted to infrastructures for which Chinese government has already invested the equivalent of 84 billion euros.

Undoubtedly, China sees in Italy a great partner not only in Europe but in the Western side of the world.

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