Italian policymakers have echoed other Western voices in calling for “de-risking,” especially avoiding economic overreliance on China. Italy, like fellow European governments, insists that de-risking is distinct from decoupling; indeed, de-risking has been largely fashioned to avoid the decoupling debate. Discussion on these issues began in Italy in the aftermath of the Giuseppe Conte government’s … Read more
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, have agreed on a series of measures to further deepen their bilateral defense cooperation through port calls by naval vessels, including an aircraft carrier strike group, as well as the joint development of a next-generation fighter jet. Highlighting the growing convergence between the two … Read more
In early December 2023, the news spread that Italy had quietly exited from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Italy, the first and so far only G-7 member to have joined BRI, thus also became the first and only country to leave China’s giant global infrastructure development scheme. The BRI, launched in 2013, seeks to … Read more
Advertisement Rome plans to exit China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as made clear by several declarations from Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni over the last year – most recently during her meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G-20 summit in India. Meloni has repeatedly indicated that Italy will cancel the March 2019 memorandum … Read more
Advertisement In 2019, Italy became the first European Union member – and the only G-7 state – to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Four years later, now under a new government, Italy is seeking not to renew the agreement, which expires in December this year. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said Italy’s decision … Read more