Italy will withdraw from China’s Belt and Road Initiative, this is the reason given

New Delhi. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has signaled to her Chinese counterpart Li Qiang that Italy is planning to withdraw from China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). According to news agency Bloomberg, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloni met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during the G20 summit in New Delhi on Saturday and discussed bilateral relations.

Le Mello’s seat on the sidelines of the G20 summit assumes significance as the Italian government has openly expressed its desire to quit the BRI, saying Rome has not benefited from Beijing’s coveted billion-dollar infrastructure initiative. During a meeting between the leaders, Georgia Maloney told Li Qiang that Italy plans to withdraw from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s highly regarded Belt and Road Initiative, while still wanting to maintain friendly relations with Beijing.

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Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani spoke sternly.
Italy officially signed the agreement in 2019. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who visited Beijing on 5 September, was critical of the BRI, saying it “did not bring the results we expected” and that many Italian parties were against Italy’s participation. China has announced plans to hold a third BRI summit in Beijing next month.

The government has until December
Maloney had earlier said his government had until December to make a decision on the BRI. He said it was “paradoxical” that even though Italy is part of the BRI, it is not the G7 country that has the strongest trade ties with China. Italian Defense Minister Guido Croceto said in July that Italy had made an “immediate and brutal” decision to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) four years ago because it had done nothing to boost exports.

There has been no growth as expected in the last 4 years
Italy signed the BRI under the previous government, becoming the only Western country to take such a step. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Saturday that Italy joined the Belt and Road Initiative with China four years ago, but even after joining, trade between the two countries has not grown as expected.

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Tags: China, G20 Summit, Italy