Joining China's Belt and Road was an 'atrocious' decision, Italian minister says

Italy made a “improvised and atrocious” decision when it joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) four years ago as it did little to boost exports, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said in an interview published on Sunday.

Italy signed up to the BRI under a previous government, becoming the only major Western country to have taken such a step. Crosetto is part of an administration that is considering how to break free of the agreement. The BRI scheme envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with large infrastructure spending.

Critics see it as a tool for China to spread its geopolitical and economic influence.”The decision to join the (new) Silk Road was an improvised and atrocious act” that multiplied China’s exports to Italy but did not have the same effect on Italian exports to China, Crosetto told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

“The issue today is: how to walk back (from the BRI) without damaging relations (with Beijing). Because it is true that China is a competitor, but it is also a partner,” the defence minister added.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated on Thursday that her country had until December to decide on the BRI after meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House. She also indicated that she will shortly be leaving for Beijing.

Even though Italy is a part of the BRI, Meloni called it a “paradox” that it is not the G7 nation with the strongest trade ties to China in an interview with the Italian news programme TG5 on Saturday.

“This shows that you can have good relations and trading partnerships” even outside of the BRI, she added.

(With agency inputs)