2023-05-12 00:24:00
Rome is on the verge of withdrawing from the Chinese “Belt and Road” initiative. The loss of G7 country Italy would be a hard blow for China. The US is likely to be behind the turnaround.
Giorgia Meloni is considering a 180-degree turnaround in Italy’s China course, which Beijing is likely to snub. The right-wing Prime Minister apparently wants to leave China’s New Silk Road (“Belt and Road”) and does not want to renew a billion-dollar infrastructure program concluded with the CP regime in Beijing in 2019. The right-wing politician Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, has promised this, according to Italian and international media reports. The Republican visited Meloni in Rome last week. Then he again suggested that she finally take a stand in the geopolitical competition between China and the USA.
Meloni is currently keeping a low profile about her plans. Observers expect a confirmation next week at the earliest, on the occasion of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Because the decision is economically and politically explosive: Chinese countermeasures are expected, which would initially take Italian companies in China. Because Italy’s exit from the Silk Road would be a severe setback for the efforts of the CP regime to gain influence in Europe. The fact that Beijing signed a memorandum with Italy as the only G7 country was a major success. And it caused a stir internationally: For critics, the Chinese infrastructure offensive is a “Trojan horse” with which Beijing is implementing its own interests in Europe.
#Giorgia #Meloni #leave #Chinese #Silk #Road