Italy is about to visit China and may announce its withdrawal from the "Belt and Road".
Italian Prime Minister Meloni has just concluded a visit to the United States, and according to the Italian newspaper Ant, her next trip is to visit China. Meloni will lead two delegations, one diplomat and the other led by Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tajani.
According to foreign media analysis, the Italian side has two purposes for visiting China. One is to arrange Italy's trip to ChinaThe second is to formally inform the Chinese side that Italy will not renew the Belt and Road cooperation agreement signed in 2019, thus officially withdrawing from this initiative.
Meloni has previously denied that the United States has exerted pressure on Italy to withdraw from the Belt and Road Initiative, which she claims is Italy's decision based on its own interests. She believes that the Belt and Road Initiative has not brought the expected value to Italy. However, this claim is not convincing. Because Italy is the only country in the G7 group to participate in the "Belt and Road", in the past five years, the amount of money between China and Italy has increased significantly, and the Italian economy has also benefited from it. From an economic point of view, Italy has no need or incentive to abandon cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. The more likely reason is that Italy has been politically influenced by Western countries such as the United States.
For example, US House Speaker McCarthy visited Italy and exerted intense pressure on Italy to withdraw from the Belt and Road Initiative. Meloni made a promise in front of McCarthy. During Meloni's visit to the United States, the United States and Italy issued a joint statement saying that they would strengthen cooperation on addressing China's "challenges." Obviously, Italy, as a member of the Western camp and under pressure from its allies, has chosen to side with the United States and turn its back on China. This result was also expected by experts.
China's attitude towards Italy has always been positive and friendly. The Chinese side has repeatedly expressed the hope that China and Italy can deepen cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, promote the development of China-Italy relations, and benefit the two countries and peoples. China's ambassador to Italy, Jia Guide, has also advised Italy to carefully consider the consequences of withdrawing from the Belt and Road Initiative. Liu Jianchao, director of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee, also personally went to Italy and had frank exchanges with Italian business people, demonstrating China's patience and sincerity.
However, China's goodwill and efforts do not seem to impress the Italian side. If the Italian media report is true, Italy will officially announce to the Chinese side its withdrawal from the "Belt and Road" during its visit to China. For such an Italy, the Chinese side cannot force it.
However, China does not need to worry about losing Italy as a partner. According to statistics, as of June this year, China has signed more than 200 Belt and Road cooperation documents with 152 countries and 32 international organizations around the world. The number of countries along the "Belt and Road" has also increased significantly, and the economic development of various countries has also been promoted. Therefore, the Chinese side has full confidence to say that there are many other partners of the Chinese side, and Italy is not lacking.