Italy's Meloni signs economic pact in China, seeks new relationship

Italy and China on Sunday signed a three-year pact for economic cooperation, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said after a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

Meloni said during her state visit in Beijing that she aims to use the document to explore new opportunities for cooperation with China, but the exact contents of the text were not disclosed.

Meloni also spoke of wanting to make trade relations with China "fairer," the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Last year, Italy's trade deficit with China grew to more than €40 billion ($43 billion).

She also criticized the imbalance in investment at an economic forum in Beijing on Sunday.

"Chinese investment in Italy accounts for about a third of Italian investment in China," she said, adding that she would like to see this gap narrow.

Meloni landed in the Chinese capital on Saturday and is due to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping for talks on Monday.

Relations between Italy and China have recently been marred by disagreements, after Meloni told China that Italy was withdrawing from China's major infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative, with which Beijing seeks to strengthen its economic ties with participating countries.

Italy had been the only country in the Group of Seven major industrial democratic powers to join the geopolitical project, in 2019, in a decision made by the previous government in Rome.

Italy said it was withdrawing as economic hopes associated with membership had not been fulfilled.