Senior China diplomat dispatched to Italy to keep nation in Belt and Road Initiative

BEIJING – China dispatched a senior diplomat to Italy this week, as Beijing seeks to

persuade the European nation not to leave

President Xi Jinping’s flagship global investment pact.

Mr Liu Jianchao, director of the Communist Party’s International Department, held meetings with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Senate Speaker Ignazio La Russa and former prime minister Massimo D’Alema, according to the department’s readouts.

He also met with a group known as “Friends of China” in Italy’s Parliament, during his three-day visit that began on Sunday. 

“It was the correct decision for China and Italy to sign the Belt and Road,” Mr Liu said during a session with business people in Milan this week, according to the official statement. 

Italy signed onto China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2019 when Mr Giuseppe Conte was prime minister, becoming the only Group of Seven nation to join the pact.

The country’s current leader, Ms Giorgia Meloni, favours leaving the infrastructure initiative, Bloomberg reported in May.

Participation will automatically renew in 2024 unless Rome exits the agreement. 

Ms Meloni told lawmakers on Wednesday that Italy can have excellent relations with China even without being part of the initiative.

“There are ongoing evaluations,” she said. “The issue must be handled carefully and respectfully, also involving the Parliament.” 

Mr Jia Guide, Chinese ambassador to Italy, warned in an interview with Italian news outlet Fanpage last week that there would “negative consequences” if Rome “recklessly decides” to withdraw.

European struggle

Mr Liu’s appeal to the Italians comes after Chinese Premier Li Qiang earlier this month travelled to Europe in his first overseas trip as China’s No. 2 official.

His meetings with business and political leaders in Germany and France came as the European Union hammers out its position on how to manage economic rivalry with China. 

Beijing is trying to persuade Europe to take a less hawkish stance than the United States, which has imposed a sweeping raft of export controls on China to curb its access to advanced technology. 

Italy has been caught in the middle of those escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing, especially in the wake of China’s support for Russian President Vladimir Putin after his invasion of Ukraine.

The US has pressured Rome to take a public stance and ditch the BRI pact, according to people familiar with the matter.

Professor Wang Yiwei of Renmin University, who specialises in European studies, said that given 152 countries had signed onto the BRI, China should have an “open mind” on Italy’s decision – noting that it was likely Italian companies that would suffer the most from an exit.

“The business community really wants to stay,” he added.

“Otherwise, they’ll lose some of the preferential treatment they’ve been enjoying as a member country to the initiative.” BLOOMBERG