Italy's Fiat and China's Guangzhou Automobile Group will launch a multi-billion yuan joint venture to produce Fiat cars in Changsha, Hunan province, it was announced Monday.

The work will begin in the second half of 2011.

The agreement was one of nine signed by the Chinese and Italian sides during President Hu Jintao's state visit to Italy.

Hu and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi attended the signing ceremony.

The other agreements focus on encouraging bilateral cooperation in investment, the high-tech sector, tourism, culture and insurance.

Before the signing, Hu held separate meetings with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and Berlusconi. They met with the press after the talks.

Hu expressed satisfaction with talks over development of bilateral ties, especially the progress achieved since the establishment of a strategic partnership in 2004.

Hu told Napolitano and Berlusconi that the economies of China and Italy are strongly complementary and the two governments should provide support to small- and medium-sized companies in the two countries.

Bilateral partnerships in telecommunication, automobiles, goods and transportation should be enhanced, while more attention should be paid to new energy, renewable energy, tourism and medicine manufacturing, Hu said.

Around 300 Chinese companies are part of an investment and trade promotion delegation accompanying Hu.

They represent small- and medium-sized enterprises, private firms and high-tech companies, according to Sun Yongfu, a senior trade official with the Ministry of Commerce.

Italy is China's fifth-largest trade and investment partner in the European Union. Bilateral trade reached $38.3 billion last year. which is close to the target set by the two leaders.

(China Daily July 7, 2009)