Status: 06.12.2023, 16:55 PM
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Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is apparently no longer convinced by the project for a "New Silk Road". © Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse/AP/dpa
China was proud of Italy's participation in the mega-project for a "New Silk Road". Now, however, Rome is announcing its exit. At the same time, however, they do not want to annoy Beijing too much.
Rome/Beijing - The beginning was great pomp: red carpet, honor guard, helicopter in the air. In March 2019, then-Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping signed an agreement at Rome's Villa Madama, according to which Italy would be the first major Western country to join China's "New Silk Road" megaproject.
The end four and a half years later was now very meek: According to Italian media reports, Rome informed about the exit with a formal diplomatic note. Officially, there was silence on the matter.
From the official residence of the current Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has been at the head of a government of three right-wing parties for just over a year, the only response to leaving the Via Della Seta (Silk Road) was: "No comment." After all, there was something like a confirmation from their foreign minister, Antonio Tajani. "We have seen that the Silk Road has not brought the hoped-for effects," he said at an event hosted by the Adnkronos news agency.
This is Beijing's megaproject
The "New Silk Road", which was launched ten years ago, is a global investment and infrastructure project of China. The initiative includes projects by land and sea that are part of the "Maritime Silk Road".
Because of the project, chronically indebted Italy had to put up with a lot of criticism from its Western partners. Italy was the only country from the group of seven major democratic economic powers (G7) to decide to join, and also the only major country from the EU. This was justified by better export opportunities, with the hope of investment - for example for the ports of Trieste and Genoa - and also for even more Chinese tourists.
China, on the other hand, as already the world's second-largest economic power, wants to open up new trade routes all over the world, both on land and at sea. "New Silk Road" is derived from the world-famous ancient trade route that stretched all the way to Europe. In the meantime, Beijing has invested almost a trillion euros in the project. In many developing countries, roads, railways, airports and seaports were built where there were none before. Critics, however, say that many countries are becoming increasingly dependent on China due to new debt. Currently, about 150 countries are participating, including Russia and Serbia. From the EU, Hungary is now part of it.
Rome must not upset Beijing too much
Meloni had never made a secret of the fact that she did not like the plan. The leader of the far-right party Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) is avowedly sacred to the sovereignty of the nation. In recent months, there has been increasing speculation that the exit is imminent. The U.S. is also exerting pressure. The background to this is that the cooperation would have been automatically consolidated in March if the project had not been terminated by the end of the year.
Of course, Italy's goal is not to annoy Beijing too much. On the business side, there are concerns that products made in Italy are no longer selling so well in the People's Republic. In addition, the Italians fear for lucrative contracts, in which they are also in competition with EU partners such as Germany and France. That is why Meloni had the Chinese assured at the same time as the farewell note that they wanted to hold on to the "strategic partnership" at all costs.
For China, which is increasingly in competition with the United States, the departure certainly means a loss of prestige. In response to an inquiry from the German Press Agency, there was initially no comment from the Foreign Ministry. When the first speculations boiled over some time ago, it was pointed out that cooperation had been greatly expanded since the agreement was signed. Trade has increased by 42 percent within five years.
In Brussels, on the other hand, the news from Rome created a good mood. In the EU and NATO, Italy's participation has recently been increasingly seen as a strategic mistake and also as a security risk. In general, the aim is to reduce economic dependencies. In particular, NATO sees the danger that Beijing will try to "take control of key areas of the technology and industrial sectors, critical infrastructure, as well as strategic materials and supply chains."
There is also unlikely to be much positive news for China at the EU-China summit in Beijing this Thursday. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel want to make it clear that the EU could impose trade restrictions such as special tariffs if China continues to pursue unfair subsidy practices and close its own market to European companies. Dpa