"Italy Officially Notifies Withdrawal from China's Belt and Road Initiative After 4 Years of Participation"

Prime Minister Meloni Takes Office, Withdrawal Already Decided
No Official Announcement from Either Government
Italian Minister: "Did Not Achieve Expected Outcome"

Italy officially notified China of its withdrawal from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, a land and maritime Silk Road connecting China, Central Asia, and Europe) on the 6th (local time), according to local daily Corriere della Sera and major foreign media citing government officials.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (left in photo) and Italian President Sergio Mattarella standing side by side at the Quirinal Palace in Rome Photo by AP News

According to reports, the Italian government sent an official letter to the Chinese government on the 3rd stating that it would not renew the BRI agreement. Following the initial local report, Italian news agency ANSA, AFP, and others also confirmed through government officials that Italy officially withdrew from China's BRI after four years. Official announcements from both the Italian and Chinese governments have yet to be made.

The BRI is a global project led by Chinese President Xi Jinping, aiming to connect Southeast Asia and Central Asia in the west of China to Africa, Europe, and various parts of the world through land railways and ports, backed by financial resources. Italy was the only G7 country to participate in China's BRI under Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in 2019, and if the agreement was not withdrawn by the end of this year, the participation period would have automatically extended for five years.

However, after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took office in October last year, she declared that "Italy's participation in the BRI was a mistake" and announced withdrawal. Government officials also openly expressed their intention to withdraw.

In September, China invited Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to Beijing to prevent Italy's withdrawal from the BRI, but the persuasion ultimately failed. Italy's absence from the 3rd Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum held in Beijing on October 17-18 made the withdrawal a foregone conclusion.

Economic reasons have been cited as the background for Italian government officials turning away from the BRI.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said at an event on the day, "(The BRI) did not bring the results we expected," adding, "It is no longer our priority." He mentioned that Italy's exports to China last year amounted to 16.5 billion euros (about 23.5 trillion won), while France's were 23 billion euros and Germany's reached 107 billion euros, adding, "Other countries achieved better results."

Meanwhile, news of Italy's withdrawal from the BRI came ahead of the European Union (EU) and China summit scheduled for the 7th. Bloomberg reported, "Italy is caught between Washington (the United States) and Beijing (China), and tensions have worsened as China supports Russia, which invaded Ukraine."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.