China is an “important interlocutor” for resolving global problems, Meloni assures in Beijing

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Monday that China was an “important interlocutor” in resolving global issues during a meeting in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Giorgia Meloni arrived in China on Saturday for an official visit aimed at boosting trade relations and discussing the war in Ukraine.

This is Ms. Meloni's first visit to the Asian country since taking office in 2022.

On Monday afternoon, Xi Jinping welcomed Giorgia Meloni to Diaoyutai, the Chinese government's state villa in Beijing, for a meeting, the first of which AFP was able to witness.

“There is growing insecurity at the international level and I think that China is inevitably a very important interlocutor to address all these dynamics,” Meloni said at the start of the meeting.

Italy and China must “think together about how to guarantee stability, how to guarantee peace,” Meloni told her interlocutor.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, for his part, highlighted the long-standing friendly ties between the two countries.

“Both sides advocate tolerance, mutual trust and respect, and each chooses its own path of development,” the Chinese leader said.

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On Sunday, the Italian leader met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and signed an Italy-China action plan. Meloni had stressed the importance of “ensuring that trade relations are balanced and mutually beneficial” for both countries.

– Key partner –

Italy withdrew from the Belt and Road accord with China last year, having been the only G7 country to participate in Beijing's massive overseas infrastructure investment programme.

Before coming to power, Meloni had said that joining the programme, a cornerstone of President Xi Jinping's ambition to increase his country's influence abroad, was a “grave mistake”.

The non-binding memorandum of understanding between Rome and Beijing included wide-ranging commitments cooperation in logistics, infrastructure, finance and the environment.

But the alleged lack of transparency has raised suspicions among Italy's allies.

Since then, Ms. Meloni's administration has sought to mend ties with China, a key trading partner.

“Our relations with China are positive, even if we are competitors and our positions diverge on certain issues,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in April.

Rome's withdrawal from the New Silk Road project “was not an act of hostility towards China,” he stressed.

In addition to Beijing, Giorgia Meloni is due to travel to Shanghai, China's economic capital. Her visit to China is due to end on Wednesday.

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