Italy becomes first Western European nation to sign up for China’s belt and road plan
- Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Chinese President Xi Jinping witness signing of memorandum of understanding in Rome
- Among other pacts are management deals for the ports of Trieste and Genoa
Italy has signed up for China’s multibillion-dollar “Belt and Road Initiative”, becoming the first Western European nation to jump on board despite scepticism from its EU counterparts and Washington.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Chinese President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Beijing’s trade and infrastructure scheme on Saturday in Rome.
Among the 29 other agreements signed were two port management deals between China Communications Construction and the ports of Trieste, situated in the northern Adriatic Sea, and Genoa, Italy’s biggest seaport.
While Genoa is a long-established port, Trieste has the most potential for China, Italian government sources earlier told the South China Morning Post.
The port is strategically important for China because it offers a link from the Mediterranean to landlocked countries such as Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Serbia, all of which are markets Beijing hopes to reach through its belt and road programme.
