ROME, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The reform and opening-up policy China has adopted since late 1970s has injected vigor to China's development and brought tremendous changes to the country, said Cesare Romiti, president of the Italy-China Foundation.

    Talking about his tours of China during the 1970s, Romiti said incredible changes had taken place in China over the past 30 years.

    Low-rising buildings were a common sight in Chinese cities and much fewer cars were running in the streets at that time, Romiti said in a recent interview with Xinhua at his home in Rome.

    Great changes not only took place in the cities and some rural areas also witnessed fast development, Romiti said. China could be a role model for many emerging economies, he added.

    Romiti, who had worked with Air Italy, or Alitalia, and Italianauto-maker FIAT, has witnessed China's changes through his repeated visits to the country.

    People's dress styles and diversifying diets were also a manifestation of China's progress and growth in the past 30 years, he said.

    "In the streets of some major cities in particular," he said, "you can see a lot of people wearing stylish and chic clothes -- indicating a level of living standards which can be compared to some Western countries."

    Romiti attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games in August, and said he was impressed by the unique people-oriented design of the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, saying the construction is world-class.

    China did an exceptionally good job in the organization of the Games, Romiti said.

    Romiti also pointed out some problems China is facing in its development, particularly those concerning the environment and pollution.

    On trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, he said that as China is making progress in its social development, more and more Chinese enterprises are going global, which is substantiated by ever closer cooperation between firms of the two countries, he said.

    People in Italy used to call Beijing 'Pechino,' but now more and more Italians prefer to use Beijing in pinyin, a phonetic system for transcribing Chinese characters, which showed more and more Italians were beginning to learn the Chinese language as China's influence grows, he added.

    As the president of the Italy-China Foundation, Romiti has encouraged Italian entrepreneurs to go to China to set up joint ventures with their Chinese counterparts or for other forms of cooperation.

    China, as a huge potential market, offers important development opportunities which Italian firms can not afford to miss, he said.

    The Italy-China Foundation, established in November 2003, aims to boost mutual understanding between Chinese and Italian businesspeople and help identify areas of cooperation for the economic and cultural circles of the two countries.