This year marks the 700th anniversary of the passing of Marco Polo, the Italian explorer who traveled to China in the 13th century and made the country known to many Westerners with his book The Travels of Marco Polo.

This pioneer of cultural exchanges was a keyword at a series of events on Friday in Beijing attended by President Xi Jinping and Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who is in China on a state visit from Thursday to Tuesday.

During the two leaders' talks, Xi said the two sides should support language teaching and youth exchanges, and "work together to cultivate more Marco Polos in the new era".

Mattarella said Marco Polo's bond with China epitomizes the long history of Italy-China friendship and how the two civilizations shine together.

China-Italy cultural cooperation is fruitful and dynamic, and the two sides should maintain close people-to-people exchanges and implement the plan for a new round of cultural cooperation, Xi said.

The two countries should deepen cooperation in the fields of culture and art, cultural relics preservation, translation of each other's classic works, tourism and education, and make collaboration on cultural heritage sites a new highlight of China-Italy cultural exchanges, he added.

After Friday's talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents in areas such as culture, science and technology, education and world heritage sites.

During the talks, Xi emphasized that mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual benefit should always be the most distinct features of China-Italy relations.

The two sides should give full play to the role of the China-Italy Governmental Committee and the dialogue mechanisms in various fields, strengthen exchanges, consolidate mutual trust, and continue to understand and support each other's core interests and major concerns, he said.

In terms of pragmatic cooperation, Xi said China is willing to expand imports of high-quality Italian products, support mutual investment by the enterprises of the two countries, and continue to push forward cooperation in areas such as science and technology, environmental protection, clean energy and aerospace.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.

China is Italy's top trade partner in Asia. Over the past 20 years, China-Italy annual trade volume has increased sevenfold, and has exceeded $70 billion for three consecutive years, according to the Foreign Ministry.

During Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's China visit in July, the two countries issued an action plan to strengthen their comprehensive strategic partnership, agreeing to uphold the time-honored Silk Road spirit.

Xi noted that this "pushes bilateral relations into a new stage of development".

Mattarella said Italy looks forward to working with China to take the 20th anniversary as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, and science and technology, and to take bilateral relations to new heights.

Italy firmly sticks to the one-China principle and always regards China as an important partner, he added.

With regard to Europe, Xi said China sees it as an important partner on the path toward realizing Chinese modernization.

The two sides should adhere to win-win cooperation and properly manage their differences, so that China-Europe relations can show due maturity and stability, he said.

China is willing to strengthen cooperation with the European side to tackle global challenges, and it hopes Italy will play an active role in this regard, he added.

Mattarella noted that Italy shares a similar position with China on many major issues.

Rome opposes protectionism, advocates mutual openness, and advocates strengthening constructive communication, solidarity and cooperation and jointly tackling various challenges, he added.

Italy is willing to work closely with China in multilateral cooperation and contribute the wisdom of the two civilizations to promoting world peace and stability, he said.

Regarding the global situation, Xi said China and Italy should carry forward their traditions of openness and inclusiveness, and drive the international community to resolve differences through dialogue, and transcend conflicts through cooperation, building a better world of harmony and coexistence.

Mattarella said Italy and China should make new contributions to promoting exchanges and mutual understanding between the civilizations of the East and West and the progress of human civilization.

Also on Friday, the two heads of state jointly met with representatives attending the China-Italy Cultural Cooperation Mechanism Conference and the Dialogue between Chinese and Italian University Presidents.

On Friday evening, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan hosted a welcome banquet for the Italian president and his daughter Laura Mattarella at the Great Hall of the People.

There, the two heads of state jointly also appreciated the lost cultural relics that were returned to China, including pottery items of the Majiayao culture confiscated by Italy.

At the National Center for the Performing Arts, Xi, Peng, Mattarella and his daughter Laura watched a concert celebrating Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, as this year marks the 100th anniversary of the passing of Puccini.

To commemorate the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's passing, the concert opened with the theme song of Marco Polo, the first TV series co-production by the two countries in 1982.