Italy, China sign 3-year action plan: Meloni resets relations: Rediff Moneynews

Beijing, July 28 (AP) Italy and China signed a three-year action plan on Sunday that aims to implement previous agreements and test new forms of cooperation, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said during an official visit to the Chinese capital.

Meloni is seeking to rebuild ties with China as fears of a trade war with the European Union are linked to continued interest in attracting Chinese investment into the auto industry and other sectors.

“We certainly have a lot of work to do, and I am confident that this work can prove useful in such a complex phase at the global level, and also important at the multilateral level,” she said at the start of her meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

Her five-day visit comes months after Italy withdrew from China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a flagship policy of Chinese leader Xi Jinping that aims to build energy and transportation infrastructure around the world to boost global trade while strengthening China’s ties with other countries.

Still, Italy still wants to continue its strong economic relationship with China. Stellantis, a major automaker that owns Italy’s Fiat, announced in May that it had formed a joint venture with Leapmotor, a Chinese electric car startup, to start selling electric vehicles in Europe.

Li, addressing Italian and Chinese business leaders after meeting with Meloni, said China’s drive to modernize its economy would boost demand for high-quality products, expanding opportunities for cooperation between companies from the two countries.

He pledged to further open up Chinese markets, ensure foreign companies are treated the same as Chinese ones and create a transparent and predictable business environment, responding to common complaints from companies operating in the world’s second-largest economy.

“At the same time, we hope that the Italian side will work with China to ensure a more fair, equitable and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies doing business in Italy,” he said.

Meloni told business leaders that the two sides had signed a memorandum of understanding on industrial cooperation that covers electric vehicles and renewable energy, which she described as “sectors where China has been operating at the technological frontier for some time… and is sharing new frontiers of knowledge with partners.”

Electric vehicles have also become a symbol of growing trade tensions between China and the EU, with the European Union in early July imposing temporary tariffs of up to 37.6% on Chinese-made electric vehicles. The two sides are in talks to try to resolve the issue by early November.

Meanwhile, China has launched an anti-dumping investigation into European pork exports, just days after the EU announced it would impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

Meloni, who arrived in Beijing on Saturday, is traveling to China for the first time as premier. She has previously held talks with Li, meeting in New Delhi last September during the annual G-20 summit, which brings together leaders from 20 major nations.

Italy’s decision to join the Belt and Road Initiative in 2019 appeared to be a political coup for China, giving it access to Western Europe and a symbolic boost in its then-raging trade war with the United States. But Italy says the promised economic benefits have not materialized and its membership has caused friction with other Western European governments and the United States.