China’s premier tells Italy’s prime minister that only cooperation can bring mutual benefits

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Sunday that only cooperation can bring mutual benefits in his first in-person talks with his Italian counterpart since Rome withdrew from the Belt and Road Initiative.

Li met in Beijing with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is on an official five-day trip to China.

“Protectionism cannot protect competitiveness, and only opening up and cooperation can bring about mutual benefits and win-win results,” Li told Meloni.

The two leaders signed a three-year action plan to implement past agreements and experiment with new forms of cooperation.

In 2019, Italy became the only member of the Group of Seven (G7) nations to join China's Belt and Road Initiative but exited the global infrastructure development project last year.

Meloni’s trip to Beijing coincides with the 20th anniversary of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership.

“China is willing to work with Italy to further strengthen political mutual trust, push bilateral relations toward a more mature and stable direction, and foster positive expectations for deepening cooperation between the two countries,” Li said.

The two sides signed six agreements regarding industrial collaboration, protection of geographical indications, food security, the environment, and education, according to a readout from Rome.

To boost bilateral relations, including in art, film and television and education, Li told Meloni that China was “ready to work with Italy to host a series of activities commemorating the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's death.”

On relations with the European Union, Li said Beijing hopes the bloc “will view China's development in an objective and rational way, continue to see China as a partner, stay committed to dialogue and cooperation to promote the steady and sound development of China-EU relations, and jointly address global challenges.”

During an opening ceremony of the seventh meeting of the China-Italy entrepreneurs committee, Li called for enhanced economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

The trade volume between two distant nations climbed to $80 billion last year.

“Against the backdrop of a sluggish global economic recovery, China and Italy should strengthen economic and trade cooperation to inject more impetus into the development of the two countries,” Li said.