Twelve foreigners from Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Germany, Denmark, the United States and Singapore received the Magnolia Gold Award from the mayor of Shanghai Ying Yong on September 29th, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the city of Shanghai.

The "Magnolia Gold Award", an award launched in 1993 by the city of Shanghai and aimed at foreigners who contribute to urban development in various sectors, has been handed over to 332 people since then. The winners of the award cover a broad field, they are mostly business executives from the commercial, financial, maritime and service sectors, as well as experts in science and culture.

The only Italian to receive the "Magnolia Gold" award for 2019 was Gianpietro Belotti, CEO of Santoni (Shanghai) Knitting Machinery Co., Ltd.