China seeks to calm fears of Italian ‘belt and road’ deal as Xi Jinping prepares for visit to Europe
- Chinese officials and analysts say Rome’s deal with Beijing is just business
- Prime Minister Conte says Italy’s relations with EU and US will not be compromised
The expansion of the China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” into Europe will be top of the agenda for Chinese President Xi Jinping when he heads to the continent this week despite concerns across the European Union and objections from the United States about Chinese influence.
Italy, the first country Xi will visit when he arrives in Europe on Thursday, has come under pressure since it said early this month that it would sign up to China’s multibillion-dollar trade and infrastructure drive.
Rome’s decision to be the first of the Group of Seven (G7) countries – and the first founding EU member – to join the belt and road flew in the face of Washington’s warning that the plan to link China to Europe was a Chinese “vanity project”.
It also came just before the European Commission for the first time described China as a “systemic rival”.
The Italian government is expected to sign a formal memorandum of understanding with Beijing before an EU summit next week, one that is expected to revise the bloc’s official approach to China.
In a briefing in Beijing on Wednesday ahead of Xi’s trip, Chinese vice foreign minister Wang Chao said some misunderstandings and “even doubts” were inevitable as belt and road cooperation developed.
“But facts will always speak louder than words,” Wang said.
He said an agreement between China and Italy would be good for the economies of both countries.
Italy may be ready to open four ports to Chinese investment
“As for … whether it will help promote trade for Italy, I think it [the answer] is absolutely ‘Yes’,” Wang said.
Pressed about the possibility of Chinese investments in Italian ports and whether there was an glut of infrastructure projects with excessive debt risks, Wang said investments were decided by market rules.
“Whether to invest in a region or not – I believe that will be decided by the market,” he said.
The benefit of cooperation was also the message in an opinion piece published under Xi’s name in Italian newspaper Corriere dell Sera on Wednesday.
“China is willing to work with Italy on the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ … to connect with Italy’s port development and investment recruitment projects, and build a new stage of belt and road in aspects of the sea, the land, aviation, space and culture,” it said.
Cui Hongjian, a senior fellow with the China Institute of International Studies, said China had long pushed to expand cooperation with European countries and it would be going a step too far to call the MOU the first belt and road agreement between China and a G7 country.
Cui said the belt and road programme was attractive to Italy because it could not get help it needed for its debt problems from the EU.
“The attractiveness and impact of the belt and road in Europe has now reached that certain stage where it is natural that Italy wanted to join,” he said.
“Italy is also in need of [belt and road] because they would like to improve their economy, [and] their internal debt and banking problems need to be solved.”
Italian PM ignores US warnings and backs China’s belt and road plan
Cui said that while China had made progress in eastern and southern Europe with Portugal and Greece getting aboard the programme but was not that big an issue if other European countries were not ready to join.
“Even if MOUs are not signed with [certain European countries], we have been able to make concrete agreements with them in other respects, I think this can also be considered as a kind of belt and road cooperation,” he said.
The prospective MOU between Italy and China has stirred misgivings, with Italian opposition parties warning that a deal could allow China to undermine Italian industries.
In Rome on Tuesday, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tried to dismiss opposition concerns, saying the MOU framework was “exclusively a trade and business one and it does not hinder our US and EU ties in any way”.
However, according to website Politico on Tuesday, all references to data sharing, 5G telecoms networks and strategic infrastructure will be removed from the Italy-China memorandum after pressure from the US. Washington has pressed its allies to ban Chinese tech giant Huawei from the development of their 5G networks.
Philippe Le Corre, senior fellow of the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Italy’s support for the belt and road would be “symbolic”.
Le Corre also said Xi had a different agenda for France.
“In France, Xi will look for cooperation with President [Emmanuel] Macron on climate, global governance and peacekeeping operations,” he said. “Moreover, France chairs the G7 meeting this year and plays a key role along with Germany in reshaping institutions this year when people vote in European elections.
China says it will not buckle in face of belt and road criticism
“They [leaders] will also discuss critical issues such as Chinese investments in Europe and market access for European companies in China ahead of the EU-China summit.”
A series of high-level meetings between officials of China and the EU will take place in the coming weeks. In addition to the 16+1 summit of countries of eastern and central Europe and China in Croatia from April 12, the China-EU summit will take place in Brussels, Belgium, on April 9.
EU leaders are expected to discuss their China strategy at a European Commission meeting on Thursday. The bloc is also expected to put forward an industrial policy to support its industries, mainly those in competition with China.
Additional reporting by Keegan Elmer
