Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is in Beijing to boost ties as concerns of a trade war with Europe grow. The two countries agreed to collaborate on green technology, including electric cars and renewable energy
Italy’s Meloni signs deal to ‘relaunch’ ties with China
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is in Beijing to boost ties as concerns of a trade war with Europe grow. The two countries agreed to collaborate on green technology, including electric cars and renewable energy.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang shakes hands with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is on an official visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on July 28, 2024
Giorgia Meloni is on her first visit to China since becoming Italian prime minister
Italy and China signed a three-year economic cooperation deal on Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, following talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
Meloni said her first visit to Beijing as Italian leader was a “demonstration of the will to begin a new phase, to relaunch our bilateral cooperation.”
The leader of the right-wing populist Brothers of Italy party also spoke of wanting to see trade relations with China become “fairer,” the Italian news agency ANSA reported.
“Chinese investment in Italy accounts for about a third of Italian investment in China,” she said, adding that she would like to see this gap narrow.
Meloni later said the 3-year deal with China includes cooperation on strategic sectors such as electric vehicles and renewable energy.
Li said the two nations had agreed on “mutually beneficial cooperation” in the fields of “shipbuilding, aerospace, new energy, artificial intelligence,” in a statement released by his office.
