The Center for Italian Studies (CSIUT), filed as a research center of international studies by the Ministry of Education, is based on existing advantages of disciplines in Tongji University and guided by the University's strategic directions to enhance international cooperation and communication with European and American countries as well as countries and regions along "the Belt and Road".
In 2000, the former State Environmental Protection Administration of China (SEPA) and the Italian Ministry of Environment, Territory and Sea (hereinafter referred to as "the Italian Ministry of Environment") signed a cooperation agreement to launch a Sino-Italian cooperation project on environmental protection.
In 2011, the China-Italy Design and Innovation Center (CIDIC), jointly established by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the Italian Ministry of Public Administration and Innovation (now Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research), was set up at Tongji University.