Finland Times

 

As a Chinese-born girl who grew up in Italy, Anna Lifang Dong developed a cross-cultural background that she sees as crucial to meet the challenges of globalization.

    

As founder of a law firm assisting Chinese, Italian and other clients in their cross-border businesses, she also witnessed how much the commercial relationship between Italy and China, and to a wider extent between Asia and Europe, has developed.

    

"We opened our law firm in 2010 in Rome, and we could see what has been going on lately in trade exchange and capital flows between the two countries," Dong told Xinhua in an interview after a conference on the Chinese community in Italy at La Sapienza University earlier this week.

    

"In the past, there were mostly Italian or Western businesses willing to relocate their production in China or going there to find a partner and, most of the times, negotiate third party manufacturing agreements with the ultimate aim of re-importing their products to the West," Dong explained.

    

Yet, things had started to change after the global economic crisis in 2008.

    

"Now, we increasingly see that Italian manufactures want to enter China's market not to produce but to sell their high quality brands to Chinese consumers," the lawyer said.

    

On the other hand, Dong and her partners ever more often have Chinese and other Asian investors willing to set up a branch in top 'made in Italy' productions such as textile, agro-food industry, tourism and mechanics, and help them starting up the business.

    

This shift of balance in European-Asian economic relations, brought about by the global crisis, is an acknowledged phenomenon.

    

More interesting is the key role second generations of migrants such as Lifang Dong might play in helping Italy-China trade relationship to develop more smoothly in the changing context, thanks to their multicultural identity.

    

"We are a small law firm, but I believe being a multi-ethnic legal team is a key factor in our ability to meet our clients' needs and help them solving their problems," the lawyer said.

    

The circumstances may be the most various. It may concern an Italian firm in financial difficulty, and willing to sell to foreign investors or instead re-launch its business by entering the Chinese market.

    

Otherwise, it may be a Chinese businessman in need of assistance to face Italy's complicated legal system, or way of doing business.

    

"Whatever the case may be, Italian and Chinese sometimes do not understand each other. This is where our role becomes crucial, not just for our specific legal expertise but for the mediation we play".

    

As an Italian-Chinese lawyer, Dong also seemed to understand more easily how crucial sectors in both countries are changing, and this allows advising clients accordingly.

    

The business of brands served as example.

    

"Take a Chinese textile company that used to produce for a top brand like Gucci or Prada," she said.

    

"Now, having acquired the necessary know-how to good quality manufacturing, that firm would tend to develop its own brand and export it, without waiting for orders from countries like Italy".

    

With her 'double' cultural identity and a training background extending from Italy to China and UK, Anna Lifang Dong finally provided an example of successful integration of the second generation of Chinese immigrants here.

    

When it came to launch her legal carrier, in fact, Italy was the country she chose.

    

"I am quite sure I could have had great opportunities in China, if I stayed after my master there. Yet, Italy is where my parents live and where I grew up and feel most at home," she said.

    

"Being successful here gives me a sense of completeness and the feeling that both to my parents' striving efforts as immigrants and my own hard work are being rewarded".