New Delhi: Italian PM Giorgia Meloni conveyed to her Chinese counterpart Premier Li Qiang on Sunday that Italy intends to disengage from China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as reported by Bloomberg. During their rendezvous on the fringes of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni engaged in a bilateral dialogue with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. This Li-Meloni tête-à-tête carried significant weight, considering that the Italian government has unequivocally expressed its inclination to sever ties with the BRI. Rome has firmly asserted that Beijing's illustrious multibillion-dollar infrastructure endeavor has failed to yield any advantages for Italy.
Within the course of their discourse, Meloni apprised Li of Italy's intent to withdraw from Chinese President Xi Jinping's emblematic Belt and Road Initiative while simultaneously aiming to sustain amicable relations with Beijing. Italy formally endorsed this pact in 2019. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who embarked on a visit to Beijing on September 5, expressed scathing reservations about the BRI, deeming it a venture that "fell short of our anticipated outcomes," while also pointing out the opposition from various Italian factions towards the nation's participation.
China, in a forthcoming move, revealed its intention to convene a third assembly of the BRI in Beijing next month. In a prior statement, Meloni underlined that her administration had until December to make a decisive judgment on the BRI. She emphasized the paradox that even though Italy is a part of the BRI, it does not stand as the G7 nation with the most robust trade connections to China.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, in an unreserved critique, deemed Italy's decision to join China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) four years ago as "unplanned and catastrophic," contending that it had negligibly impacted export growth. Italy's commitment to the BRI was formalized during a previous government's tenure, establishing Italy as the solitary major Western nation to undertake such a measure.
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