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Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on July 29, 2024. Photo: Xinhua

Amid accelerating global changes unseen in a century, countries will either progress together through connectivity and unity, or retreat separately through closure and division. China and Italy should uphold and promote the Silk Road spirit, view and develop bilateral relations from a historical dimension, strategic height and long-term perspective, and push their relations to go steady and far, Chinese President Xi Jinping said when meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Beijing on Monday.

Xi said the healthy and stable development of China-Italy relations is in line with the common interests of both countries and their peoples.

Meloni's first visit to China since assuming office is poised to restart the relationship between the two nations, with experts anticipating a return to regular dialogues at various levels. This visit signifies a shift in Italy's approach to China, moving away from ideology-driven policies toward a more pragmatic and economically focused strategy after Italy's withdrawal from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said experts. 

The strengthened ties between China and Italy, the third-largest economy in the European Union, are expected to serve as a model for other European and Western countries, highlighting the advantages of mutually beneficial cooperation with China in a time of global uncertainty and waning US leadership.

Noting that China and Italy are at the two ends of the ancient Silk Road, Xi said the time-honored friendly exchanges between the two countries have made significant contributions to the overall exchanges and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations, and to the progress of humanity.

The Silk Road spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit is a shared treasure of China and Italy, Xi said.

The Chinese President said China is willing to work with Italy to promote the optimization and upgrading of traditional cooperation in economic and trade investment, industrial manufacturing, technological innovation, and third-party markets, and explore cooperation in emerging areas such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence. 

China welcomes Italian companies to invest in China, and is willing to import more high-quality Italian products. China hopes that Italy will also provide a fair, transparent, safe, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies investing in the country, said Xi.

Xi emphasized that in an era of economic globalization, only by adhering to open cooperation in the global industrial chain and supply chain can win-win development be achieved. China adheres to the path of peaceful development and never pursues hegemony, and is willing to share development opportunities with all countries. 

Meloni said that the current international situation is undergoing profound changes, and China, as an important major country, plays an irreplaceable role in addressing global challenges. 

Italy adheres to the one-China policy, and hopes to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with China, tap more potential, deepen cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, and enhance people-to-people exchanges to promote more Italian products entering the Chinese market. 

Italy opposes "decoupling" and protectionism, and is willing to play an active role in deepening EU-China relations, said the Italian leader. 

Restart ties

Italy and China signed a three-year action plan on Sunday to implement past agreements and experiment with new forms of cooperation, Meloni said on an official visit to China, according to Associated Press.

Meloni told business leaders that the two sides had signed an industrial collaboration memorandum that includes electric vehicles and renewable energy, which she described as "sectors where China has already been operating on the technological frontier for some time ... and is sharing the new frontiers of knowledge with partners."

Chinese experts said that the action plan is more like a "compensatory" deal for Italy following Rome's withdrawal from BRI last year. 

"The action plan serves to minimize the negative impact on Italy after it pulled out of BRI; signing the plan also signals Italy has vast demand for cooperation with China, as it used a alternative plan to focus on areas where there is demand from both countries," Cui Hongjian, a professor with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance with Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times.

The action plan, however, doubled down on both countries' collaboration on electric vehicles (EV) despite Italy supporting the European Commission (EC)'s decision to impose provisional tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China.

Stellantis, a major automaker that includes Italy's Fiat, announced in May that it had formed a joint venture with Leapmotor, a Chinese electric car startup, to begin selling EVs in Europe, media reported. 

Zhao Yongsheng, a research fellow at the Institute of Regional and International Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, pointed out that the action plan provides an opportunity for both countries to enhance cooperation in the EV industry, as Italy requires China's technology and China has a need for its capital and technology to be exported. Southern Europe has proven to be a good location for such investments.

Chinese experts believe that both Italy's withdrawal from BRI and supporting EC's tariffs on Chinese EVs are partly due to pressure from the US and other Western countries. 

After experiencing the detrimental impact of strained China-Italy relations following Rome's withdrawal from BRI, and the failure of the US to deliver significant benefits, Italy has pivoted from an ideology-driven policy approach to a more pragmatic stance. This shift is expected to provide a much-needed boost to Italy's economic development, according to Zhao.

The Italian leader said her five-day trip was a "demonstration of the will to begin a new phase, to relaunch our bilateral cooperation". The action plan aims to experiment with new forms of cooperation, per Reuters.

After Meloni's visit, dialogue and cooperation between different levels from China and Italy will return to normalcy, and this will also be part of the "relaunch" of ties, said Cui, noting that the frequent exchanges will help enhance understanding and disperse disputes, leading bilateral relations, and China-EU relations to a healthier direction. 

Demonstration effect 

When meeting with Meloni, Xi said China hopes that Italy will understand and support China's development philosophy, and play a constructive role in promoting dialogue and cooperation between China and Europe and promoting the positive and stable development of China-Europe relations.

"Italy can have an important role in EU relations and creating balanced relations," Meloni said Monday. "We need a rules-based order" as a way "to guarantee stability, peace, trade that remains free," she said, Bloomberg reported. 

Meloni's visit will have a demonstration effect among European countries, as the trend of "decoupling with China" becomes more prevalent on the continent. Substantial cooperation between China and Italy will demonstrate the benefits of collaborating with Beijing, leading Europe to realize the advantages of such partnerships. This collaboration will help to bring stability amid rising uncertainty surrounding the upcoming US presidential election, according to Zhao.

As Europe is grappling with a myriad of external and internal challenges, certain countries are turning to practical cooperation with China in order to safeguard their own interests. This shift has prompted nations like Italy to consider more pragmatic adjustments in response to the mounting pressure they face, Sun Keqin, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times. 

China attaches great importance to its relationship with Europe. Italy is a major country in the EU, and Meloni's party achieved a major victory in the European elections, thus strengthening the relationship between China and Italy is of great significance for enhancing economic cooperation between two countries and promoting China-Europe relations, said Sun.