Italian Prime Minister signs agreement to 'reboot' relations with China

Italy and China signed a three-year economic cooperation agreement on Sunday (July 28), Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said after talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

Giorgia Meloni is on her first visit to China since becoming Italy's prime minister. Photo: Liu Weibing/Xinhua/IMAGO

Ms Meloni said her first visit to Beijing as Italy's leader was "an expression of the will to start a new phase, to relaunch our bilateral cooperation".

Meloni also wants to make trade relations with China “fairer”. “Chinese investment in Italy accounts for about a third of Italian investment in China,” she said, hoping to narrow this gap.

Ms Meloni later said the three-year deal with China included cooperation on strategic sectors such as electric vehicles and renewable energy.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said the two countries had agreed to "win-win" cooperation in the fields of "shipbuilding, aerospace, new energy, artificial intelligence".

Rome is looking to rebuild ties with Beijing after pulling out of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) last December. Italy was the only G7 country to join the BRI in 2019 but withdrew under pressure from Washington and Brussels.

In 2023, bilateral trade between Italy and China reached 66.8 billion euros, heavily tilted towards Beijing.

Prime Minister Meloni attended the Italy-China business forum on Sunday. Italian companies such as Pirelli, ENI, Leonardo, and luxury fashion groups such as Dolce & Gabbana attended the forum.

Premier Li Qiang pledged to open up China's market and create a transparent business environment for foreign companies.

Prime Minister Meloni will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday.

Cao Phong (according to AP, dpa, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/thu-tuong-y-ky-thoa-thuan-tai-khoi-dong-quan-he-voi-trung-quoc-post305336.html