Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is getting dragged into the escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing as she tries to disentangle Italy from its close relationship with China.
Meloni, the right-wing leader who came to power less than a year ago, is leaning toward pulling out of an agreement to join China¡¯s controversial Belt and Road initiative, which has funded $900 billion in infrastructure projects globally, according to people familiar with the government¡¯s thinking. Italian officials raised the prospect of withdrawal in talks with Taiwan this week, Bloomberg reported.
Italy¡¯s hawkish turn complicates Chinese leader Xi Jinping¡¯s effort to drive a wedge between European countries eager to retain economic relations with Beijing, and the U.S. which is implementing increasingly confrontational policies. This puts Italy and the European Union in a delicate position between the two superpowers.
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