Premier Li Keiqang said the main course of Sino-Italian cooperation is yet to come and the $10 billion in deals being signed on Tuesday were merely the appetizer.

His remarks came after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi described the deals as no more than an "antipasto" that should open the way to more cooperation with China in the future.

More than a dozen deals were signed on Tuesday in sectors ranging from energy to engineering, deepening Beijing's commercial ties with the eurozone's third-largest economy.