No decision yet on quitting China’s Belt and Road: Italy PM Meloni
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An Italian media report earlier on Sunday said PM Giorgia Meloni had outlined Italy's plan to quit the BRI.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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ROME - Italy has not yet decided whether to quit China’s Belt and Road investment plan, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday, but doing so would not damage bilateral relations.
“We have yet to make a decision,” Ms Meloni told a press conference at the close of the G-20 summit in New Delhi, a day after meeting for talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
Should Rome decide to quit, it “would not compromise relations” with China, Ms Meloni said.
Italy, seeking to minimise any backlash from the decision from Beijing, would as a replacement aim to revitalise a strategic partnership agreement with China,
Italy is the only G7 nation to sign up to the Belt and Road Initiative.
It is a global trade and infrastructure plan modelled on the old Silk Road that linked imperial China and the West.
Critics say the Belt and Road plan is a Trojan horse to increase China’s influence.
The deal automatically renews in March 2024 unless Italy opts out by the end of this year.
Italian politicians have questioned the value of the BRI agreement signed by a previous administration in 2019.
The deal has been a source of friction with Western allies due to wariness about spreading Chinese influence.
Italy is the only one of a group of leading developed democracies to have signed up.
An Italian media report said earlier that Ms Meloni had outlined Italy’s plan to pull out of the pact during a meeting with Mr Li.
The Italians told the Chinese that their decision had not been dictated by the United States, the report added, comments echoed by similar reports in other Italian newspapers.
Italy has the G-7 presidency next year and recasting its relationship with Beijing would placate its Western allies.
Ms Meloni and Mr Li held talks at the G-20 summit in New Delhi on Saturday to discuss deepening relations, Ms Meloni's office said in a statement.
"Italy and China share a Global Strategic Partnership whose 20th anniversary will recur next year and which will be the beacon for the advancement of friendship and cooperation ... in every area of common interest," the statement added.
The Italian PM is tipped to travel to Beijing for a state visit in the next few months, or at the start of next year, but would not be drawn on a possible date.
“It makes more sense to go to China when we have more elements about our bilateral cooperation and how to develop it,” she said.
Ms Meloni’s meeting with Mr Li, their first face-to-face, came as a broad alliance of states at the G-20 unveiled ambitious plans to create a modern-day Spice Route.
It seeks to link Europe, the Middle East and India.
The signatories hope it will offer a counterbalance to lavish Chinese infrastructure spending. AFP, REUTERS
