Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited China to improve their relationship, meeting President Xi Jinping and calling China an important partner in handling global issues.
President Xi praised the long-standing friendly ties between China and Italy. Meloni and Chinese Premier Li Qiang signed a three-year economic cooperation plan.
This was Meloni’s first visit to China since becoming Prime Minister, and it followed her decision to remove Italy from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) last year.
She described her trip as an effort to restart the relationship with China. She emphasized the need for both countries to work together for stability and peace.
Italy was the only major Western nation to join the BRI, a huge Chinese project to boost trade and infrastructure.
The move was criticized by the US and other Western countries. Since taking office in 2022, Meloni has aimed for a more pro-Western and pro-NATO foreign policy, calling the previous government’s decision to join the BRI a mistake.
Analysts, like Alicia Garcia-Herrero from investment bank Natixis, say that without BRI membership, Italy is engaging with China more as a partner than a subordinate.
Under Meloni, Italy has blocked a Chinese company from taking over tire maker Pirelli and supported EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
Trade between China and Italy reached 66.8 billion euros last year, making China Italy’s largest trading partner outside the EU after the US.
For more details, you can visit the BBC website.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz5rjjvvzlzo