Recently, China and Italy signed the Memorandum of Understanding about Supporting the Establishment of the Sino-Italy Eco Park, stating both countries shall give their support to Chinese and Italian enterprises, institutions and related organizations to build up the Sino-Italy Eco Park collaboratively in Yuyao Economic Development and Cooperation District in Ningbo. This means that the Sino-Italy Ningbo Industrial Park which opened on September 26th has been upgraded into a national-level one and its name changed to the Sino-Italy Ningbo Eco Park.
In the beginning of 2014, the government of Ningbo and the Invitalia came up the initial plan of building a cooperation platform for China and Italy, aiming at promoting industrial and economic development of Ningbo, upgrading the traditional industries of Ningbo and meanwhile providing the Italian enterprises with vast market in China and sufficient funds by drawing reference from the experience of Sino-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park. This plan was supported by the Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, the Ministry of Economy Development of Italy, and the Italian ambassador. And the signing activity was added to the agenda of the Italian president during his visit to China from June 10th and 12th. On June 11th, witnessed by Premier Li Keqiang and Italian president Matteo Renz, People’s government of Ningbo and Invitalia signed the Cooperation Agreement upon the Program of Establishing the Sino-Italy Ningbo Industrial Park Collaboratively. Since then, the park was established officially in Yuyao Economic Development and Cooperation Zone. On September 26th, Ma She, Deputy Director of the Department of European Affairs of the Ministry of Commerce of Chinapresented the placard of the Sino-Italy Ningbo Industrial Park on its opening ceremony. On October 14th, witnessed by Premier Li Keqiang and Italian president Matteo Renz, Minister of the Ministry of Commerce of China, Gao Hucheng and Minister of the Ministry of Economy Development of Italy signed the Memorandum of Understanding about Supporting the Establishment of the Sino-Italy Eco Park. Both countries will give their support to Chinese and Italian enterprises, institutions and related organizations to collaboratively build up the Park and the Sino-Italy Yuyao Eco Park in the Zhongyi Economy and Technology Development District and Yuyao Economic Development and Cooperation Zone in Ningbo respectively. This meant that the Sino-Italy Ningbo Industrial Park was officially upgraded to an Eco park supported by international cooperation.
The Park is located in the new costal town of Yuyao Economic Development and Cooperation Zone. The area of the park is about 47 square kilometers as planned. It has an outlay of one park and four sectors which are residential and commercial service sector, advanced manufacturing concentration sector, comprehensive sector of new industries and eco sector of tourist and leisure. Based on their functions the park shall strive to set up a pattern in which these four sectors form a complete set and link with each other in their development.
The Sino-Italy Ningbo Eco Park’s functions and orientation are as follows. The focus of the park is developing cyclic economy and low-carbon economy and ecological protection.
The park aims to introduce technologies, funds, management and talented people from Italy through cooperation between Chinese and Italian enterprises in a butt-to-butt way and by using China’s market and capital. The park intends to build a cooperative and win-win relation among Chinese enterprises and Italian companies, even among the European and American ventures. The park strives to build an ecological demonstration of being resource-saving and environmentally friendly, an innovative demonstration of R&D center and concentration of advanced industries and an opening demonstration of leading the cooperation among China and European and American countries. The park endeavors to be modern, international, and fairly competitive and influential.
It is known that three projects with total investment of more than 6.5 billion yuan have already been put into construction including the intelligent high and low voltage electrical equipment. 8 other programs with total investment of more than 3.9 billion yuan are signed, including building environmental protection equipment and smart robots. In the recent Development and Construction of the Sino-Italy Ningbo Eco Park Forum, many experts and leaders of state-level development zone discussed various issues concerning the eco-park’s development and construction in depth, presented many valuable insights and provided some ways of thinking which are worth considering and reference in order to make the park a domestic first-class one and a model of international cooperation. Yuyao government will endeavor to build a modern industrial system with the core of being green, low-carbon and cyclic that takes energy saving and environmental protection, health, equipment and high-end auto parts manufacture and other new industries as the leading factor and an environmentally friendly, continuously innovative and openly humane international industrial park in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding and with the support of the Ministry of Commerce, Zhejiang provincial government and Ningbo government. All this will add powerful driving force to the upgrading and transformation of industries and opening up of Yuyao city.