Italy is not the only European country to join the Belt and Road Initiative, but it is the only G7 country to join the Belt and Road Initiative. Due to various reasons, Italy has withdrawn from the "Belt and Road" project, casting a shadow on the economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.
In fact, as early as December last year, Italy officially submitted a note on its withdrawal from the "Belt and Road" initiative. We have tried our best to retain and persuade Italy, and even sent special personnel to Italy in the hope of being able to persuade Italy face-to-face. However, it is a pity that our sincerity did not change the decision of the Italian side.
On March 24 this year, the Observer Network reported that Italian Ambassador to China Ambos confirmed in an interview with the media that Italian President Mattarella and Prime Minister Meloni plan to visit China within this year. Meloni had been clamoring the world for months before that the Belt and Road Initiative had not brought any real benefits to Italy. On the other hand, however, the Italian government hopes to continue to deepen economic and trade cooperation with China. It can be seen that Italy's withdrawal from the "Belt and Road" initiative is not the so-called lack of practical benefits, but the United States is putting pressure on Italy. Italy's exports to China are mainly high-end products such as fashion, wine and luxury cars. Meloni is personally the president of the Brothers of Italy party, admires Mussolini, and is a far-right winger.
Italian Prime Minister Meloni
Meloni's rush to visit China this time is mainly to repair Sino-Italian relations that have been affected by the withdrawal from the Belt and Road Initiative. After withdrawing from the Belt and Road Initiative, Italy's economic situation is not optimistic, with a GDP of 2.13 trillion US dollars in 2023, a growth rate of 0.9%, and a fiscal deficit rate of 7.2%. Italy's industrial production index fell 1.2% month-on-month in January.
In this context, Handelsblatt said on April 20 that in 2023, the head of the Italian right-wing government announced the withdrawal from Chinese infrastructure projects. Now, however, she is launching a charm offensive against China, and is even unilaterally trying the "Marco Polo Road". Marco Polo knows that he was an Italian who came to the capital of the Yuan Dynasty during the Yuan Dynasty of China. He wrote a book called "The Travels of Marco Polo", in which he described what seemed to be everywhere in the Orient with gold. They want to use historical episodes to show that the commercial exchanges between the two countries have a long history, and they want to re-take the "Marco Polo Road" to represent the "Belt and Road"
January 8, 2024, is the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's death. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani welcomes guests from China directly on the Grand Canal, the largest canal in the lagoon city, with wooden yachts passing by in the background. Chinese representative Wang Wentao came to Venice to attend the commemoration of the 700th anniversary of the death of Marco Polo.
Marco Polo once visited the capital of the Yuan Dynasty and described the East as full of gold
Antonio Tajani said: Marco Polo was born into an old trading family and is famous for his travels in China.
Tajani also said that Marco Polo was a "pioneer of diplomacy related to tourism and knowledge" and the protagonist of the "dialogue between Italy and China".
Meloni is also aware of the importance of engagement and trade with China to Italy. Italy is also particularly important to China, being Europe's second largest trading partner after Germany. The intention of cooperation between the two sides in the fields of digital field, artificial intelligence and renewable energy is very high. Both sides need to be open to each other to bring opportunities and development to both sides.