Italy’s Prime Minister Meloni aims to reset relations on visit to China

BEIJING (AP) — Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is on an official visit to China this week to try to reset relations as fears of a trade war with the European Union are interwoven with continued interest in attracting Chinese investment in auto manufacturing and other sectors.

Meloni met Chinese Premier Li Qiang in the Chinese capital on Sunday ahead of a forum with Italian and Chinese business leaders.

Her five-day visit comes several months after Italy dropped out of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a signature policy of Chinese leader Xi Jinping to build power and transportation infrastructure around the world to stimulate global trade while also deepening China’s ties with other nations.

Italy’s decision to join in 2019 appeared to be a political coup for China, giving it an inroad into Western Europe and a symbolic boost in a then-raging trade war with the United States. But Italy says the promised economic benefits didn’t materialize, and its membership created friction with other Western European governments and the United States.

Still, Italy remains keen to pursue an otherwise strong economic relationship with China. Stellantis, a major automaker that includes Italy’s Fiat, announced in May that it had formed a joint venture with Leapmotor, a Chinese electric car startup, to begin selling EVs in Europe.

Electric vehicles have become a symbol of growing China-EU trade tensions, with the European Union imposing provisional tariffs of up to 37.6% on China-made electric vehicles in early July. The two sides are holding talks to try to resolve the issue by an early November deadline.

China meanwhile has launched an anti-dumping investigation into European pork exports, just days after the EU announced it would impose the tariffs on Chinese EVs.

Meloni, who arrived in Beijing on Saturday, has held talks with Li before, meeting in New Delhi last September during the annual G-20 summit, which brings together the leaders of 20 major nations.