Italy – Giorga Meloni’s government has confirmed that Italy will leave the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BMI) before the end of the year, but stated that they want to keep good political and economic relations with China.

Previously, in 2019, Italy was the only major country in Europe – and the only member of the G7 group – which signed up for the trade and infrastructure project.The United States harshly criticized that step at the time. Ms. Meloni had earlier declared her predecessor’s government step toward joining the BMI as a mistake.

The BMI project
The project was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 as a tool for connecting European and Asian logistical routes with China. Even from its inception, the project was criticized by Washington as a grand scheme by China to pull smaller countries into a debt trap.
According to Riccardo Benussi, who spoke to Silk Road Briefing, while Italy initially believed that BMI could be beneficial for the county, no significant investments in the project were ever made. Some local governments in Italy had hoped that the Chinese would begin investing in Italian infrastructure projects, but such funds were not forthcoming – most likely because the Chinese know that the European Union carries out such projects.

Thus, the Italian government ended up being disappointed at the lack of tangible results from its commitment – even if its expectations were naïve. Further, Italy’s Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, has said that BRI is “not a priority” since trade relations between the countries remain good, with bilateral trade between the two having reached 72.4 billion euros in 2022, which is its highest level ever.
Italy’s participation in the BRI is set to expire in March 2024.

The geopolitical aspect
The United States made no secret of its opposition to Italy’s participation in the BRI, with President Joe Biden giving PM Meloni a deadline of December to decide on whether it would continue to participate.
China, it is no surprise, was not pleased by Washington’s involvement in the affair. As Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, commented: “China firmly opposes any attempts to smear or undermine the cooperation in building the Belt and Road, and stands against creating divisions and camp confrontations.”