“The government has managed to manage the exit from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) without jolts, in an intelligent way. This is why Giorgia Meloni’s trip is very important, Italy in its relationship with China must look first and foremost at its own national interest, trying not to be influenced by the hostility of the United States towards Beijing”. This is how Mario Boselli, president of the Italy-China Foundation, commented to Adnkronos on the Prime Minister’s official visit, which will take place between 27 and 31 July. “In 2019, Italy was the only G7 country to sign a memorandum for the BRI and since then it has been the only one not to renew it, with the promise that other things would be done together. Now is a good time to strengthen the dialogue, even more so after Adolfo Urso’s trip and before that of President Mattarella, who will leave in the fall”, he underlines.
The Chinese economy is showing difficulties, Boselli reasons, “and therefore Italy can be a partner to relaunch trade, investments and consumption. Above all, domestic consumption is a problem for Beijing, which becomes a problem for our exports. I can tell you that the sector I know best, fashion, is particularly suffering from the reduction in purchases by Chinese citizens. The supply chain of fashion houses has been hit hard, with drops in turnover not seen since the Covid era”.
According to the president of the Italy-China Foundation, “the problem does not only concern Made in Italy, but all exporting countries: Chinese consumers, especially those who purchased excellent products that come from our country, have been hit by the real estate crisis on several fronts. Even on the psychological one: despite having financial availability, many of those who had been ‘encouraged’, let’s say, to buy shares of real estate giants, such as Evergrande, suddenly found themselves with a decimated portfolio. And so they limited their purchases of quality goods”.
Obviously, Xi Jinping’s narrative also had an impact, as he explicitly asked his fellow countrymen to prefer products made in China? “Yes, it is a contributing factor, but it is not a policy that targets individual countries, but rather seeks to bring out pride in national production in the face of a general slowdown in the economy,” he replies.
Speaking of the sectors that can benefit from this trip, Boselli mentions the automotive sector, a particularly sensitive field given the duties announced by the European Union on Chinese electric cars. “All the more reason to encourage Chinese companies to invest in Italy and create production lines here, so as not to run into the trade restrictions imposed by Brussels. We have seen that we cannot rely too much on Stellantis. After all, this was one of the central points of Urso’s trip”.
“And then there is the medical sector, which has suffered a drastic reduction after the end of the pandemic – he concludes – Italian exports have stopped, but they remain one of our strong points, as there are also various Italian players in their territory. Both in terms of trade and investments, there is room to restart. Finally, the field of mechatronics, where our know-how generates great interest”.
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