Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pledged to “relaunch” ties with China as she commenced her first official visit to Beijing since assuming office.
During the start of her five-day tour, Meloni met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and signed a three-year plan to enhance economic collaboration between the two nations.
This visit follows Italy’s withdrawal from President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) last year, a decision made because Rome felt the initiative did not benefit Italy.
Meloni described her trip as a “demonstration of the will to begin a new phase, to relaunch our bilateral cooperation.”
Premier Li’s office released a statement indicating that the two countries aim to enhance “mutually beneficial cooperation among small and medium-sized enterprises in shipbuilding, aerospace, new energy, and artificial intelligence.”
Italy was the sole major Western country to join the BRI, which is one of China’s grandest trade and infrastructure endeavours.
The decision was widely criticised by the US and several other Western nations. Since taking office in 2022, Meloni has pursued a more pro-Western and pro-NATO foreign policy compared to her predecessors. She previously criticised the former government’s choice to join the BRI as “a serious mistake.”
Under Meloni’s leadership, Italy has prevented a Chinese state-owned company from acquiring control of the tire manufacturer Pirelli. Rome has also backed the European Commission’s recent decision to impose tariffs of up to 37.6% on electric vehicles imported from China. Trade between the two countries amounted to 66.8 billion euros (£56.3 billion) last year, making China Italy’s largest trading partner outside the EU after the US.
Nancy Mbamalu
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