Italy is the European country that has made the biggest commitment so far to China’s Belt and
Road Initiative (BRI). This was during the visit by Xi Jinping to the country in March 2019. Despite
pressure from the US, Italy became the first European country to accord the BRI this kind of
recognition. In China, this obviously was important for publicity and propaganda. For Italy, it
caused tensions with other partners in the EU, many of whom had resisted going along a similar
route. The question is whether it was worth it. With over a year elapsing since the deal was
signed, that is the question this paper asks. What has Italy got from the BRI?
This paper identifies the risks (of both geopolitical and financial nature) run by Italy by signing
the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and analyses the content of the MoU and the data
describing China’s involvement in Italy and vice versa. The aim is to recognise if the signing
of the MoU has brought about any concrete change in addressing Italy’s core needs or if it
has mainly provided China with valuable validation from an EU founding country and through
part of the G7 becoming part of the BRI. Data prove that the MoU, with bilateral agreements
between Italy and China, is not fit to address Italian problems and has not translated into any
material change for Italy. Based on this evidence, the paper offers recommendations to try
to find a more secure and concrete strategy within the framework of the EU and to improve
Italy’s flagship sectors, which are also those that data show as being the ones of greater
Chinese involvement. The recommendations are offered to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and International Cooperation directly, as well as to the Italian Trade Agency and to the Italian
Ministry of Economic Development.
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