Italian tiremaker Pirelli anticipates accelerated growth in the Chinese market in the next few years and expects to embrace "a long-lasting opportunity" in China amid its efforts to tap the global market.

In its recently released two-phase industrial plan for the next five years, the company said it foresees "a substantial rebound" in global GDP driven by China and the United States in the 2021-22 period, followed by a further stabilization of growth from 2023-25.

The company said its new plan "remains centered on high value," giving more emphasis to tires for electric vehicles as well as the Chinese market where the high-end customer base is growing.

Business growth in China is driven by the country's overall economic expansion, which is supported by the increase in domestic consumption, Marco Tronchetti Provera, executive vice chairman and CEO of Pirelli, told Xinhua in an interview.

The Chinese economy remained resilient in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with its recovery well extended into this year.

China's manufacturing and service sectors registered faster growth in their business activities in March, with the purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector rising from 50.6 in February to 51.9 in March, according to the latest data.

The auto market saw a brisk rebound in particular, with auto sales totaling 3.958 million units in the first two months of 2021, up 76.2 percent year on year, official data showed.

Meanwhile, the company forecast an increase in the use of electric vehicles over the next five years, which is expected to lead to a rich tire market for electric vehicles.

The growth of electric vehicles will offer an important opportunity for the development of Pirelli's technologies, which is well-recognized in China, Tronchetti said.

The tiremaker is also ready to capitalize on the booming trend of e-commerce, as consumers' purchasing methods following the epidemic are expected to shift to online channels, the company noted.

Pirelli has partnered with three Chinese online platforms, namely, Tuhu, JD.com and Carzone -- a joint venture of Alibaba Group. The tiremaker expects a compound annual growth rate of 20 percent in sales volume in China via online platforms over the next five years.