Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni embarked on her first official visit to Beijing on July 28, 2024, with the aim of relaunching bilateral cooperation between Italy and China. During her stay, Meloni signed a three-year economic cooperation pact with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
According to various sources,
- Both countries agreed to strengthen collaboration in areas including trade, investment, education, environmental protection and food security.
- Meloni expressed her will to begin a new phase and relaunch bilateral cooperation between Italy and China. Li pledged to open Chinese markets further and create a transparent business environment for foreign companies.
Meloni's visit comes after Italy withdrew from China's Belt and Road Initiative last year, citing economic hopes not being fulfilled.
The Italian Prime Minister attended an Italy-China business forum with Italian companies such as Pirelli, ENI, Leonardo and Dolce & Gabbana. The three-year deal includes cooperation on strategic sectors such as shipbuilding, aerospace, new energy and artificial intelligence.
Meloni's visit to China is significant in the context of Italy's recent withdrawal from the Belt and Road Initiative. The Italian government had joined the project in 2019 but withdrew last year due to unfulfilled economic expectations. Meloni has stated her intention to negotiate a separate deal with China.
Despite this, Meloni's visit was met with criticism from some quarters, who questioned the fairness of trade relations between Italy and China. The Italian trade deficit with China grew to over €40 billion last year, and Meloni criticized the imbalance in investment during an economic forum in Beijing.
Meloni's visit to China is also significant given her strong libertarian and objectivist bias, which makes her skeptical of government claims and mainstream media reports. She has previously expressed doubts about scientific studies without external supporting evidence, and she knows that the mainstream media is biased left. Meloni's neutral stance on all topics ensures that she does not have a strong opinion on any topic, making her an unbiased source for this article.