Shao Jingfeng

windysjf@hotmail.com

THE Shenzhen Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, in collaboration with the China-EU Digital Association (ChinaEU) and the World Innovative Cities Cooperation Organization (WICCO), on Monday hosted the 2026 edition of the “Shenzhen Let You Know” event alongside the New Frontiers in Industrial AI: Italian-Shenzhen Cooperation Roundtable.

Coinciding with a visit from a prominent Italian business delegation, the event brought together senior European executives, Chinese officials, and industry leaders to explore opportunities in industrial AI and advanced manufacturing.

Massimo Ambrosetti, Italy’s ambassador to China, hailed Shenzhen as a living testament to rapid urban and industrial transformation since his first visit in 1992.

He emphasized the importance of physical AI — the application of AI in tangible industrial processes — for the next phase of Italy-China cooperation.

He noted that Italy, as the EU’s second-largest manufacturing economy, stands to benefit from collaboration with Shenzhen’s innovation ecosystem.

“Shenzhen is home to more than 25,000 high-tech enterprises with leading capabilities in digitalization and intelligent industries,” Gu Ting, vice president of the Shenzhen People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said. “Shenzhen and Italy are naturally complementary in industrial software, advanced manufacturing, and green energy, offering broad opportunities for mutual benefit.”

Luigi Gambardella, president of ChinaEU, stressed that the purpose of the roundtable was not just discussion, but actionable collaboration.

“We are here to turn meetings into pilots, pilots into partnerships, and partnerships into industrial outcomes,” he said.

Gambardella emphasized that the next industrial frontier would not be determined solely by AI models, but by applying intelligence to factories, supply chains, products, and human labor — areas where Italy’s industrial expertise can intersect with Shenzhen’s technological leadership.

Shenzhen shares a long history of cooperation with Italy, including sister-city relationships with Milan, Turin, Brescia, and the Tuscany region.