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Is Italy’s Giorgia Meloni willing and able to help China improve ties with the EU?
- A year after pulling out of the belt and road, the Italian leader came away from Beijing with a three-year action plan for greater cooperation
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Giorgia Meloni’s trip to Beijing last month was meant to be a relaunch of relations with China after Italy’s exit from Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative a year ago.
The main outcome from the trip was the signing of a three-year action plan to increase cooperation in a range of areas from trade to green development.
Beijing also called on Rome to help promote its relations with the European Union but observers said there was little sign that the Italian prime minister – with a reputation as a staunch critic of China – had the interest or wherewithal to do so.
When Italy signed on to the belt and road plan in 2019, it was the only big Western European economy to join China’s flagship infrastructure plan. When it pulled out in 2023, it cited a lack of economic benefits.
The decision to withdraw was in line with Europe’s broader “de-risking” approach to China. The EU has a €300 billion (US$330 billion) trade deficit with China and Brussels is increasingly at odds with Beijing over electric vehicle imports and support for Russia.
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On her trip to Beijing, Meloni said she wanted a “fairer” trade relations and a narrower trade deficit with China.
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Kawala joined the Post in 2022 and has worked in both news and tech after graduating from Columbia Journalism School. Previously based in the US and Australia, she has worked for multiple international news outlets including Al Jazeera, SBS Australia and Shenzhen Television. She specialises in Asia affairs, breaking news reporting and video production.
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