Giampiero Bertolini visits the Qingtian Overseas Chinese Import Commodity City in Lishui, Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: qingtianfabu]

Giampiero Bertolini, CEO of the century-old Italian winery Biondi-Santi, visited Qingtian county in Lishui, Zhejiang province, on May 20 to explore opportunities for cooperation in the wine industry, trade platforms, and cross-border consumer markets.

The two sides held in-depth discussions on industrial collaboration, brand development, and cultural exchange, highlighting the irreplaceable role of overseas Chinese as a bridge.

Bertolini toured the Qingtian Overseas Chinese Import Commodity City and Qingtian Hongle Wine, where he learned about the local wine industry's scale, operation models, customs facilitation services, market reach, and overall business environment. He also visited wine display zones, tasting areas, and the full supply-chain system.

Biondi-Santi, a legendary benchmark from Montalcino, Tuscany, boasts over 160 years of history and ranks among Italy's top four wineries.

As a renowned hometown of overseas Chinese, Qingtian is home to 381,000 overseas Chinese across 146 countries, providing a solid foundation for cross-border trade and a large consumer base.

Leveraging this unique advantage, Qingtian has developed a comprehensive wine industry ecosystem encompassing exhibitions, warehousing, brand operations, cultural experiences, e-commerce livestreaming, and nationwide distribution, making it a key gateway for European fine wines entering the Chinese market.

Bertolini expressed his eagerness to introduce Biondi-Santi's top wines, authentic winemaking techniques, and wine culture to Qingtian, with the goal of achieving comprehensive cooperation in brand integration, channel development, market expansion, and cultural exchange.

Looking ahead, Qingtian will continue to leverage its overseas Chinese networks to attract high-end wines, advanced concepts, quality projects, and valuable resources, further upgrading the wine industry toward stronger branding, high-end development, and cultural tourism integration.