Italy PM Meloni vows to ‘relaunch’ bilateral ties with China.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described China as a crucial partner in handling global tensions during her meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
President Xi also commended the longstanding friendly relationship between Beijing and Rome, emphasizing the importance of tolerance, mutual trust, and mutual respect.
On Sunday, during her inaugural visit to China as she assumed office, Ms Meloni and Chinese Premier Li Qiang convened and agreed on a three-year initiative to enhance economic collaboration.
Ms Meloni’s five-day visit follows her decision last year to withdraw her country from President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Rome stated that the large Chinese investment plan was intended to boost bilateral trade.
Ms Meloni described her trip to China as an attempt to “restart” the connection.
Following discussions with President Xi at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Ms Meloni stated: “The increasing uncertainty on a global scale necessitates China’s role as a crucial partner in navigating these complexities.”
She stressed the importance of both nations collaborating to maintain stability and ensure peace.
Italy was the sole major Western country to join the BRI, one of China’s most ambitious trade and infrastructure initiatives.
The decision faced strong criticism from the United States and a few other key Western nations.
Ever since she took office in 2022, Ms Meloni has aimed to implement a foreign policy that is more supportive of the West and NATO compared to previous leaders.
Prior to exiting the BRI, Ms Meloni had characterized the previous government’s choice to participate in it as “a significant error”.
Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for the Asia Pacific region at investment bank Natixis, stated that all [BRI] member countries recognize China as their priority and themselves as secondary, and she believes that Italy, a G7 member, does not want to be associated with Russia, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka.
“She added that Meloni will engage with China at a different level – more as a partner rather than a vassal – without BRI membership.”
Italy, under the leadership of Ms Meloni, has taken steps to prevent a Chinese state-owned company from acquiring control of Pirelli, a major tyre manufacturer.
Rome has also backed a recent decision by the European Commission to place tariffs of up to 37.6% on electric vehicles coming from China.
Last year, China became Italy’s largest non-EU trading partner after the US with a total of 66.8 billion euros (£56.3bn) in two-way trade between the two countries.
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