Relationship between quality and price is an economic topic which has concerned the attention of numerous researchers throughout the decades since the beginning of Economics itself.
Aim of this paper is to analyse both from an empirical and a theoretical perspective the above-mentioned relation and determine the factors which link these two variables.
The paper begins with an empirical analysis of Italy and China commercial flows aimed at establishing the possible reasons at the root of unit price differentials related to products considered similar because belonging to same macro categories.
The second part of the paper contains an analytical formalisation based upon the empirical evidence gained in the previous section; the model suggests an explanation of economic agents' behaviour in the economic system considered and provides a demonstration of the actual difference in quality between Italian and Chinese goods.