China Talks Up BRI Links As Minister Calls For End To Participation

(MNI) London-The Chinese foreign ministry has talked up links with Italy facilitated by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) following comments from Defence Minister Guido Crosetto called the 2019 decision to join "improvised and atrocious". The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that "The joint construction of the "Belt and Road" cooperation has built a new platform for practical cooperation between China and Italy, and has achieved many practical results in economic, trade and enterprise cooperation."

• MoFA: "According to Italian statistics, in the first five months of this year, Italy's exports to China increased by 58% year-on-year. It is in the interests of both sides to further tap the cooperation potential of jointly building the "Belt and Road"."
• Crosetto, from PM Giorgi Meloni's social conservative Brothers of Italy (FdI), claimed that the increase in Chinese exports to Italy had not been matched by a sufficient increase in trade flows in the other direction.
• The minister did not, though, call for a hasty BRI withdrawal, stating that "The issue today is: how to walk back (from the BRI) without damaging relations [with Beijing]. Because it is true that China is a competitor, but it is also a partner,"