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Italy has officially informed Beijing of its decision to withdraw from President Xi Jinping’s flagship Belt & Road Initiative, ending months of speculation over a relationship that had irritated Rome’s western allies.
The formal decision comes three months after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — who in the past had called Rome’s participation in the BRI a “mistake” — publicly confirmed that her right-wing government was considering a pullout, while affirming her determination to preserve “mutually beneficial” relations with Beijing.
A senior Italian official, who asked not to be identified, confirmed on Wednesday that Rome had formally notified Beijing of its intent to withdraw from the deal, which would have been otherwise renewed automatically for another five years in early 2024. Meloni’s office declined to comment.
Rome’s 2019 decision to unite China’s ambitious international trade and infrastructure investment scheme had dismayed its western allies, as it was the only one of the G7 major economies to do so.
Stefano Stefanini, Italy’s former ambassador to Nato, said that the Italian government at the time — an unlikely coalition of the populist Five Star Movement and Matteo Salvini’s right-wing League — had “underestimated the geopolitical relevance of the initiative”.
“They thought that Italy could get away with cosying up to China despite being the only G7 country to do it,” Stefanini added.
But he said Italy’s continued participation in the initiative was untenable now, given the deterioration in relations between Beijing on one side and Washington and the EU on the other, and western efforts to reduce dependence on China, particularly in strategic areas.
“There is now an official G7 policy called de-risking,” he said. “The US had made it clear to the present Italian government that participation was incompatible with Italy’s position in the G7.”
The Italian government had been eager to find a way to withdraw gracefully from the scheme without provoking harsh retaliation from Beijing. Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani travelled to Beijing this year for talks, while Meloni met Chinese premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi in September.
In a press conference after that meeting, Meloni emphasised Italy’s desire to preserve strong ties with China, even as she signalled the possibility of Italy’s BRI exit. “The issue is how to ensure a partnership that can be mutually beneficial regardless of the choices we make on the BRI,” she said.
However, Michele Geraci, who as under-secretary in Italy’s ministry of economic development in 2019 had championed Italy joining the BRI, was fiercely critical of the Meloni government’s withdrawal.
“There is no upside in exiting,” Geraci said. “It is a decision that will hurt Italian companies who need the protection of the government to do business around the world. I expect that our exports will suffer a lot. Chinese consumer reaction will be fierce against made-in-Italy luxury products.”
