Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 10: Trying to wriggle out of an agreement that its western allies have not liked, Italy is learnt to have finally communicated to China its plan to withdraw from its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) scheme even while looking to still maintain the friendly relations between the two countries.
Signed by the previous government in 2019, many Italian politicians have been questioning the value of the BRI agreement which has been a source of friction with Western allies due to wariness about spreading Chinese influence and has become a test for Italy’s relations with the United States, arch enemy of China.
The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is learnt to have privately signalled to Chinese Premier Li Qiang that Italy was planning to exit from an investment pact of BRI. It was communicated during a meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the on-going G20 Summit in New Delhi, some media reports said on Sunday.
Meloni reportedly told Li that Italy plans to withdraw from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative while still looking to maintain friendly relations with Beijing. The Italians also told the Chinese that their decision had not been dictated by the United States, the report added.
The Italian prime minister has been taking her time before deciding how to communicate her government’s decision to exit from the global infrastructure pact, fearing trade retaliation, particularly since China’s ambassador to Italy had warned there would be “negative consequences” for Italy if it withdrew from the agreement.
Italy had earlier signalled to its allies that it intended to pull out of the initiative, but Meloni has for months been haunted by a dilemma on how to deliver such a decision to Beijing while limiting the risk of retaliation. Meloni is believed to have told Li that she would visit China in the coming months since the issue was sensitive.
Italy, seeking to minimise any backlash from the decision from Beijing, would as a replacement aim to revitalise a strategic partnership agreement with China, aimed at fostering economic cooperation, it first signed in 2004.
Italy is the only G7 nation to sign up to the BRI, a global trade and infrastructure plan modelled on the old Silk Road that linked imperial China and the West. “The prime minister (Meloni) communicated the intention to quit the project to her counterpart,” the media reports said, saying Premier Li had made a last attempt to persuade the Italians to rethink.
Italy has the G7 presidency next year and recasting its relationship with Beijing would placate its Western allies.
“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,” a statement issued by Italian Prime Minister’s Office said.