In 2019, Italy became the first and only G7 member country to sign a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation with China under the Belt and Road Initiative framework. Since then some anti-China forces have been pressuring Italy to withdraw from the initiative or else be seen as a betrayer by the US-led West.
They have even spread lies about the Belt and Road Initiative in the media, belittling its achievements and falsely claiming that Italy’s cooperation with China is harmful for the European country. What these Western propagandists do not accept is that Sino-Italian cooperation under the framework of the initiative is based on bilateral political, economic and cultural exchanges, which benefits the peoples and serves the interests of both countries.
Italy has benefited much from the Belt and Road Initiative in fields such as infrastructure, finance, and third-party market cooperation. Chinese enterprises engaged in the construction of some Italian ports and railways have provided more diversified capital and technological choices for the country, with some Italian financial institutions jointly establishing investment funds in China, and working with Chinese companies to finance Italian small and medium-sized enterprises.
China and Italy have also been cooperating on agricultural projects and water treatment and supply facilities in Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe. And Italian industrial parks in Tianjin and Ningbo, Zhejiang province, are performing well, attracting Italian investment and expanding their overseas market.
The Belt and Road Initiative has also promoted Sino-Italian cultural exchanges during the past four years. For example, under the Belt and Road framework, Italy was accorded priority at important Chinese expos and was the only guest of honor at the third China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, Hainan province, in April.
Also, Italy has signed the largest number of agreements among European Union countries on exporting agricultural products to China, and high-quality Italian agricultural and other food products such as rice, beef and kiwi have gained a foothold in China’s vast market. In fact, from 2019 to 2021, Italy’s exports to China increased by 42 percent, and bilateral trade in 2022 reached nearly $78 billion. China is also Italy’s largest trading partner in Asia.
Besides, the China-Italy Year of Culture and Tourism was celebrated in 2022. And about 29,000 Chinese students are studying in Italy, while about 6,000 Italian students are studying in China.
This shows Italy has benefited from the Belt and Road Initiative despite some Western media outlets claiming China is the sole beneficiary of the special bilateral relationship. Some politicians in Italy have been misled by such propaganda and are ready to kowtow to the United States in the false belief that Italy would be compensated by the US-led West for quitting the initiative.
But the US doesn’t have the capability or intention to compensate Italy since its “Build Back Better World Initiative” is developing at a slow pace and it has invested most of its capital in its own global projects, such as the “Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity”.
However, some US enterprises will be pleased that Italy is thinking of pulling out of the initiative, because they cannot compete with their Italian counterparts in the Chinese market. As a matter of fact, Italy’s industries will suffer a serious blow if Italy quits the initiative and their market share in China would be grabbed by their US competitors.
The US’ opposition to Sino-Italian collaboration under the Belt and Road framework is based on geopolitics rather than Italy’s interests. In recent years, the US has adopted a negative attitude toward China and has been using Cold War-style rhetoric to isolate China from the global market. The US has always seen the Belt and Road Initiative as a challenge to its hegemony and therefore is pressuring Italy to exit the initiative.
The US will sacrifice Italy’s interests to form an anti-China bloc in Europe and erect barriers for China’s trade and industries in the name of “de-risking”. So Italy should overcome the challenges posed by the US-led West because as two ancient civilizations, China and Italy are comprehensive strategic partners that share broad common interests and have enough reasons to continue their special cooperation, not least because the initiative’s high-quality development will help Italy to transition to low-carbon production and digitalization, which is in line with its green and digital transformation agenda.
Italy can take advantage of big data and artificial intelligence, among other technologies, offered by the Belt and Road Initiative to strengthen its own digital and information technologies. Since Italy’s advanced sectors such as industrial design and biological medicine have a market in China, the two countries can unleash their cooperation potential in cutting-edge technologies such as high-end manufacturing, green energy and aerospace to realize win-win results.
Next year will mark the fifth anniversary of the China-Italy agreement on the initiative and the 20th anniversary of the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership. They should take the opportunities to boost their cooperation under the Belt and Road framework, further strengthen their relations, and avoid strategic misjudgments, because many experts believe China-Italy relations have a brighter future under the Belt and Road framework.
The author is an assistant researcher of the Department of European Studies, China Institute of International Studies. The views don’t necessarily represent those of China Daily.
