China touts the benefits of its 'Belt and Road' initiative to Italy, which may end the agreement
China's foreign minister is seeking to sell his Italian counterpart on the benefits of leader Xi Jinping's signature “Belt and Road” initiative of Chinese-built and -funded infrastructure projects, as Rome considers whether to renew the agreement BEIJING -- China’s foreign minister is seeking to sell his Italian counterpart on the benefits of leader Xi Jinping’s signature “Belt and Road” initiative of Chinese-built and -funded infrastructure projects, as Rome considers whether to renew the agreement . In a Monday meeting, Wang Yi told Antonio Tajani that bilateral trade had grown from $50 billion to nearly $80 billion and that Italy’s exports to China increased by around 30% over the past five years. While the figures haven’t been corroborated, Italy’s conservative government has cast doubt on the benefits of the arrangement. In 2019, Italy became the only European country to sign on to the initiative under then-premier Giuseppe Conte, and it is not expected to be extended w...