Italian premier seeks to relaunch ties with China during Beijing visit

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pledged to relaunch relations with China as she embarked on her first visit to Beijing since assuming office.

During her five-day trip, Meloni met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and signed a three-year plan aimed at enhancing economic cooperation between the two countries, News.Az reports citing foreign media.

This visit comes after Meloni’s decision last year to withdraw Italy from President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). At that time, Rome had cited the lack of tangible benefits from the large-scale Chinese investment program as the reason for its exit.

Meloni has described her visit to Beijing as a "demonstration of the will to begin a new phase" in bilateral relations.

She also said the two countries have signed an agreement that aims to boost cooperation on electric vehicles and renewable energy.

In a statement released by his office, Premier Li said the two countries aim to increase "mutually beneficial cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises in the fields of shipbuilding, aerospace, new energy, artificial intelligence."

Italy was the only major Western nation to sign up to the BRI, one of China's most ambitious trade and infrastructure projects.

The move was heavily criticized at the time by the US and some other major Western countries.

News.Az