Italy’s Meloni, on the 700th Anniversary of Marco Polo’s Death, Seeks To Reshape Sino-Italian Relations

On the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo’s death, Prime Minister Meloni journeyed to Beijing to reconfigure Italy’s relationship with the Middle Kingdom — a diplomatic pivot designed to tame the Communist Chinese tiger.Unlike other recent trips by Western leaders, though, this one will bear geopolitical fruit.In many ways, Signora Meloni’s first official state visit to the People’s Republic of China was as groundbreaking as Richard Nixon’s 1972 sojourn to Beijing. A staunchly conservative capitalist leader comes to the court of the Communist giant.Citing Beijing’s burgeoning international role, Signora Meloni remains ever mindful of China’s hegemonic ambitions. In a meeting with President Xi, the Italian premier underscored “our respective points of view, in order to reason together on how to guarantee stability, peace and free trade.”Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Premier Li Qiang at Beijing, July 28, 2024. Filippo Attili/Italian Premier Press Office via APYes, she signed a three-year action plan to strengthen trade ties between the two nations — the first since Italy bolted from China’s Belt and Road Initiative.Yes, Signora Meloni and China’s premier, Li Qiang, forged a joint action plan that focused on strategic sectors such as electric vehicles and renewables.Yes, Signora Meloni hailed the two polities’ “demonstration of the will” to begin anew, to engage in bilateral cooperation that would engender mutual economic growth.The Italian premier, though, a free-market conservative, managed to persuade Mr. Li — a card-carrying member of the party — to openly acknowledge the efficacy of “small and medium-sized enterprises.”Then came Signora’s Meloni’s shot across the bow. “Chinese investment in Italy is about a third of the level of Italian investments in China,” she declared. “It’s a gap that I’d like to see narrowed in the right way.”For his part, Mr. Xi told Signora Meloni that the Chinese Reds want to work with Italy “to promote the optimization and improvement of traditional cooperation in economic and commercial investments.”China Central Television reported that Mr. Xi “welcomes with favor Italian companies that invest in China and is willing to import more high-quality Italian products.” Yet Signora Meloni’s mission was a multi-faceted effort that extends beyond the realms of commerce and diplomacy.President Nixon’s trip to Mao’s China in 1972 opened the People’s Republic of China’s backwater Communist economy to the world. In revitalizing Cathay’s capitalistic animal spirits, though, the West squandered this opportunity.Communist China morphed into a state-oriented free-market juggernaut that undermined Western manufacturing. Signora Meloni appears eager to not repeat this mistake.As the president of the Italy-China Institute, Maria Rosa Azzolina, explained, Prime Minister Meloni expects that “this trip will contribute to the joint efforts to solve problems, including environmental and terrible regional conflicts.”Indeed, as Signora Meloni told Mr. Xi: “There is growing insecurity at an international level, and I think that China is inevitably a very important interlocutor to address all these dynamics.”However, Italy’s premier admonished China’s president for fueling, funding and supplying Russia’s war machine. Rather than furthering President Putin’s aggression, she said, Beijing can use its diplomatic weight to help end the conflict.Ms. Meloni added that such “global problems can only be solved through cooperation between the West and China” — and with Italy spearheading the West’s diplomatic outreach to the Middle Kingdom.Though it was scarcely mentioned in the Western press, the Sri Lankan Guardian reported that Mr. Xi lauded “the time-honored friendly exchanges between the two countries” and how such interactions have contributed to “mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations, and to the progress of humanity.”Beyond strengthening bilateral cooperation in AI, trade, and investment — as well as increasing Italian high-tech and aerospace exports to Beijing — Signora Meloni is showing how best to deal with the Communist giant — as only a center-right capitalist leader can.Unlike the other members of the G-7, Italy has a connection to China that spans seven centuries. “China and Italy should uphold the spirit of the Silk Road,” Mr. Xi observed, “so that the bridge of communication between East and West through it can rebound into a new era.”Where Paris, Berlin, Brussels, and Washington have flailed in their efforts to tame the Chinese tiger, could Rome be poised to succeed? In a speech at a Beijing exhibition honoring Marco Polo’s journeys to the East, Signora Meloni hailed the Italian explorer’s fortitude, courage, and daring — traits that are emblematic of a people.And in jettisoning the Belt and Road Initiative, expanding Italy’s naval presence in the Indo-Pacific, and chiding Mr. Xi about Beijing’s support of Russian aggression, Signora Meloni is boldly re-shaping Sino-Italian relations on terms that bode well for the West.

Italy’s Meloni, on the 700th Anniversary of Marco Polo’s Death, Seeks To Reshape Sino-Italian Relations

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