Italy formally withdraws from China's Belt and Road project, confirms govt source

More than four years after becoming the first G7 country to sign up, Italy has formally pulled out of China’s vast Belt and Road infrastructure project, a government source announced on Wednesday.

According to AFP, citing Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, the long-expected decision was communicated to Beijing three days ago. There was no official statement from either side, it added.

Rome had pulled out in such a way as to “keep channels of political dialogue open”, AFP quoted  an Italian government source as saying.

Before coming to power last year, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the decision by a previous government to join in 2019 was a “serious mistake”.

Critics have denounced the trillion-dollar investment scheme as a predatory “Trojan horse” aimed at buying political influence.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in September that membership “has not produced the results we were hoping for”.

The deal was due to automatically renew in March 2024 unless Italy opts out by the end of this year.

But Rome has been wary of provoking Beijing and risking retaliation against Italian companies.

Meloni told reporters at the G20 summit in Delhi in September that month that should Rome leave the project, it “would not compromise relations with China”.

With inputs from agencies