Italy's withdrawal from the New Silk Roads: Beijing criticizes the "denigration" of its project

“China firmly opposes the denigration and weakening of cooperation (around) the New Silk Roads, and opposes confrontation and division,” said Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the ministry. of Foreign Affairs, during a regular briefing.

The spokesperson did not wish to comment directly on Italy's decision but stressed that more than 150 countries are participating in this project, launched in 2013 under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, which makes it "the largest platform for cooperation in the world.

He recalled that Italy had sent representatives to the New Silk Roads forum in Beijing in October, proof according to him of the “enormous appeal” and “global influence” of the project.

Italy has withdrawn from the controversial agreement with China on the New Silk Roads, four years after joining it, a source within Giorgia Meloni's government said on Wednesday.

Expected for several months, the decision to leave this pharaonic maritime and land infrastructure project was communicated to Beijing a few days ago, according to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Rome withdrew in order to “keep the channels of political dialogue open,” the government source told AFP.

Without directly confirming the news, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Wednesday that Italy was seeking to "relaunch the strategic partnership" with Beijing.

In 2019, Italy, buckling under the weight of its public debt, became the only G7 country to participate in this massive investment program from Beijing, described by its opponents as a Trojan horse intended to obtain political influence .

This ambitious project worth 2.000 billion dollars aims to improve commercial links between Asia, Europe, Africa, and even beyond by the construction of ports, railways, airports or of industrial parks.

This program is also criticized internationally for the dangerous debt it imposes on poor countries.