Industrial relations between Italy and Chongqing: A focus on Liangjiang New Area

Abstract

The aim of this master’s degree thesis is to provide an overall description of the existing industrial relations between Italy and Chongqing, with a particular attention to those ones located in the Liangjiang New Area, the third national development new area after Shanghai Pudong New Area and Tianjin Binhai New Area. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first describes the present situation of Chongqing taking into consideration its geographical position, the modern and contemporary history, its strategic orientation in the “Belt and Road Initiative”, as well as the policies that allowed Chongqing to become an important city for foreign investments in China. The second chapter provides an exhaustive description not only of the existing Italian investments in Chongqing, but also of the investments of Chongqing enterprises in Italy, analyzing which are the main kinds of investment preferred by Italian companies investing in Chongqing and Chongqing companies who have chosen Italy as a connection bridge with Europe. The third chapter focuses on the present situation of Chongqing Liangjiang New Area, its establishment, preferential policies for foreign investments, and main industrial sectors. The last part of the chapter will focus on the recent establishment of the Sino-Italy Industrial Park and Sino-Italy Investment Promotion Center, both located within Liangjiang New Area. The investment made by UFI Filters, Italian leading global manufacturer of filtration systems, after the establishment of the above mentioned industrial park, will be the closing part of the last chapter.