New Delhi: In a big setback for Xi Jinping, Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni told Chinese premier Li Qiang on Sunday that her country has decided to exit the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The Italian Prime Minister conveyed her decision to withdraw from the project to her Chinese counterpart, Premier Li Qiang, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi. Li made a last-ditch effort to persuade Italy to reconsider, but Meloni remained firm in her stance.
During a subsequent press conference, Meloni clarified that the final decision on Italy’s withdrawal from the initiative is pending. She emphasised that such a move, if confirmed, would not undermine the diplomatic relations between Italy and China. Italy had been the sole G7 nation to participate in the BRI, a global trade and infrastructure initiative inspired by the historical Silk Road that once connected imperial China with the Western world.
This development constitutes yet another blow to President Xi, who has been striving to rejuvenate the struggling infrastructure plan in the face of mounting defaults and a slowdown in new investments.
Meanwhile, India continues to make strides with its ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor project, which aims to establish a robust trade and infrastructure network connecting India to Europe through the Middle East.
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