Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is getting dragged into the escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing as she tries to disentangle Italy from its close relationship with China.
Meloni, the right-wing leader who came to power less than a year ago, is leaning toward pulling out of an agreement to join China’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative, which has funded US$900 billion in infrastructure projects globally, according to people familiar with the government’s thinking. Italian officials raised the prospect of withdrawal in talks with Taiwan this week, Bloomberg reported.
Italy’s hawkish turn complicates Chinese President Xi Jinping’s effort to drive a wedge between European countries eager to retain economic relations with Beijing, and the US which is implementing increasingly confrontational policies. This puts Italy and the European Union in a delicate position between the two superpowers.