Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described China as an “important interlocutor” for managing global tensions during her meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Xi acknowledged the “long-established friendly” relations and emphasized “tolerance, mutual trust, and mutual respect” between the two nations. On her first visit
Italy’s Defense Minister, Guido Crosetto, criticized the country’s decision to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), calling it “improvised and atrocious.” Crosetto claimed that the initiative had not effectively boosted Italy’s exports, making China the primary beneficiary. In 2019, Italy became the first developed economy to

