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Metropolis Desk-
Italian defense minister Guido Crosetto has called the country’s choice to participate in China’s Belt and Road (BRI) plan “improvised and atrocious.” China, according to Mr. Crosetto, was the only beneficiary of the program and Italy’s exports were not significantly increased.
Before now, China has claimed that the BRI had produced “fruitful results” for both countries.
Italy joined the BRI in 2019 as the organization’s first developed economy, a decision that angered its Western allies. Rebuilding the historic Silk Road trade route is one of the goals of the global investment program’s plan to link China with Europe and other continents.
To speed up the distribution of Chinese goods abroad, China participates in it by supporting significant infrastructure projects all over the world.
Critics claim that China is using it as a vehicle to further its influence. When Italy opted to participate in the program four years ago, both the EU and the US expressed worry.
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera quoted Mr. Crosetto as saying, “The decision to join the [new] Silk Road was an improvised and atrocious act” that enhanced Chinese exports to Italy without having a similar impact on Italian exports to China. He stated that to exit the agreement without harming its relations with Beijing, Italy must now figure out how.
“Today’s challenge is how to abandon the BRI without jeopardizing ties [with Beijing]. Because, while China is a rival, it is also a partner, Mr. Crosetto added.
As Beijing had become increasingly assertive on the world stage, Italy would have to think about how to withdraw “without producing disasters”, he said.
Since May, when Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated she wanted talks with China about possibly leaving the BRI, there has been a heated debate over whether Italy should stay in the BRI.
Unless Italy formally requests to leave it by December of this year, it will automatically renew in March 2024.
In a recent statement, China’s foreign ministry stated that it was its opinion that “China and Italy should further explore their cooperation potential” under the BRI and “strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation to seek more fruitful cooperation results.”
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, noted that the BRI has produced “fruitful results” for the two countries in many different areas in remarks that were published in the English language edition of the state-affiliated Global Times newspaper in May.
Since then, Beijing has begun a diplomatic effort to try to persuade Italy to renew the agreement by dispatching senior officials to the nation to argue its case.
Source- BBC News
