Media: Italy officially withdraws from "New Silk Road" project
According to media reports, Italy has officially informed China of its withdrawal from the "New Silk Road" project. This was reported by the daily newspaper "Corriere della Sera" and the Italian news agency Ansa, citing reliable sources. According to these sources, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who heads a government of three right-wing parties, informed Beijing via a note verbale from the Foreign Ministry.
At the same time, she was assured that Italy wanted to maintain its strategic partnership with China. There was initially no official comment on this in Rome.
Since 2019, Italy has been the only country in the Group of Seven major democratic economic powers (G7) to be a member of the infrastructure project of China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping. The decision was made by a previous government in which Meloni was not involved.
The leader of the far-right party Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) had already made it clear before her election victory last year that she wanted out. Over the past few months, there has been repeated speculation that the move is imminent. The background to this is that the project would have automatically solidified if it had not been explicitly terminated. However, Italy's aim was also not to upset Beijing too much.
The Chinese project includes projects by land, which are part of the "New Silk Road", and by sea, which are part of the "Maritime Silk Road". "New Silk Road" is derived from the world-famous Silk Road - an ancient trade route that stretched all the way to Europe. This Thursday, a summit between China and the EU will take place in Beijing. Hungary is still involved in the "New Silk Road" project from the European Union.
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- Following Italy's withdrawal from the "New Silk Road" project, there have been discussions in other European countries about their participation in the Chinese-led initiative, with media outlets reporting mixed sentiment.
- Furthermore, the Italian government's decision to leave the project has not affected the country's intention to strengthen its economic ties with China, as it continues to prioritize its strategic partnership with Beijing.
- Despite Italy's departure, the "New Silk Road" project remains a significant global initiative, with countries like Hungary still actively involved in both the land and sea components of the project, reflecting the continued interest in connecting economies along the ancient Silk Road.
Source: www.ntv.de
