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| Giorgia Meloni wearing a black jacket and white shirt (archive) |
Italy will withdraw from the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, confirmed the government of this state.
The administration of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has notified Beijing that it will end its participation in the initiative, local media say.
Italy has been the only major Western country to be part of the initiative since 2019, one of China's most ambitious projects in the fields of trade and infrastructure.
This decision has been criticized by the United States and some other countries.
Launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to invest around $1 trillion in projects across Asia and Europe.
Projects include new railways and seaports, with the goal of connecting Europe with China and other parts of Asia.
However, the initiative has been criticized from the beginning by the United States as an example of "diplomacy that traps states through debts."
Washington has stated that China's plans involve financially unsustainable and impossible projects for many countries, thus falling into Beijing's trap.
If it were to disengage, the contract with Italy had a clause that provided for the automatic renewal of the contract in March of the next year.
A month ago, Meloni called the decision of the previous government a "serious mistake" and signaled her intention to withdraw from the initiative.
However, current government officials have said they aim to maintain good relations with China, regardless of the decision.
Only a portion of China's 20 billion euros in investments has materialized in Italy.
Last year, Italian exports to China reached a value of 16.4 billion euros, compared to 13 billion euros in 2019.
Chinese exports to Italy increased to 57.5 billion euros from 31.7 billion euros in the same period.