Italy’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, expressed disappointment with the controversial investment deal with China ahead of his visit to Beijing, raising speculations of Italy’s possible withdrawal. Italy joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2019, making it the only G7 nation to participate in President Xi Jinping’s ambitious project, which involves substantial investments in infrastructure to boost trade connectivity across Asia, Africa, and Europe. Critics view the initiative as a vehicle for increasing Beijing’s influence. The deal is set to renew automatically in March 2024 unless Italy decides otherwise.
While emphasizing the desire to maintain a close relationship with China, Tajani pointed out that the Belt and Road Initiative had not yielded the expected results. Italian exports to China in 2022 amounted to 16.5 billion euros, significantly lower than France’s 23 billion euros and Germany’s 107 billion euros. During his upcoming visit to Beijing, Tajani will engage with Chinese authorities, paving the way for a potential visit by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which some experts believe may confirm Italy’s withdrawal from the agreement.
Speculation suggests that the withdrawal may have already received preliminary approval from Chinese authorities. Lorenzo Codogno, a former chief economist at the Italian treasury, anticipates that Meloni will make an official announcement during her state visit to Beijing in mid-October, as a gesture of respect towards China’s leadership. However, the final decision will rest with the Italian parliament. Notably, Meloni’s predecessor, Mario Draghi, had frozen the agreement and curtailed significant Chinese investments in sectors deemed strategically important to Italy.
(Source: VOA | Reuters | CNBC)
