Meloni vows to renew ties with China after snubbing Xi’s project

    • Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni holding her daughter Ginevra as she is welcomed by local Chinese officials after landing in Beijing; Both countries signed a three-year plan in Beijing on Sunday (Jul 28) to strengthen collaboration in areas including trade, investment, education, environmental protection and food security, while reaffirming the importance of balanced and mutually beneficial trade relations, according to an official statement.
    • Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni holding her daughter Ginevra as she is welcomed by local Chinese officials after landing in Beijing; Both countries signed a three-year plan in Beijing on Sunday (Jul 28) to strengthen collaboration in areas including trade, investment, education, environmental protection and food security, while reaffirming the importance of balanced and mutually beneficial trade relations, according to an official statement. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
    Published Sun, Jul 28, 2024 · 08:41 PM

    ITALIAN Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pledged to relaunch bilateral cooperation with China as she kicked off her first official visit to Beijing since snubbing the country’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative last year.

    Both countries signed a three-year plan in Beijing on Sunday (Jul 28) to strengthen collaboration in areas including trade, investment, education, environmental protection and food security, while reaffirming the importance of balanced and mutually beneficial trade relations, according to an official statement.

    “We want to relaunch our bilateral cooperation,” Meloni said as she arrived at the Great Hall of the People. Both nations “will work to experiment with new types of collaboration, too”, she added.

    Meloni is seeking to stabilise relations with Beijing after Rome pulled out of President Xi Jinping’s flagship investment pact last year. Her visit comes as Europe braces for the US presidential election this November, which could disrupt Washington’s diplomatic and trade relations with the EU.

    The Italian leader is expected to meet Xi and Premier Li Qiang during her trip. She views the Chinese president as someone who could become an important stakeholder in Russia’s war in Ukraine if Washington were to pull support, as Republican candidate Donald Trump has threatened, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with her thinking. 

    Meloni’s visit to China will surely open a “new chapter” in relations with Italy, Premier Li said on Sunday. 

    She will need to navigate this relationship with Beijing alongside the EU’s tougher trade policies towards the Asian nation, as well as Xi’s backing of Russia. She is expected to discuss Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict in her meetings with Chinese leaders.

    The work between Rome and Beijing “will be useful in such a complex global phase and on a multilateral level”, Meloni said. The aim is to make commercial relations “more advantageous and more equitable for all”, she added. BLOOMBERG

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