Italy wants to maintain a "strong"
trade relationship with China even though it has withdrawn from
the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing's massive
globe-spanning infrastructure scheme aiming to build a
modern-day 'Silk Road', Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister
Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday.
"We have told China that we no longer intend to participate in
the Silk Road (project) because it was not a positive agreement
for our exports," Tajani told the assembly of farmers'
association Confagricoltura in Rome.
"Countries that were not part of it, such as France and Germany,
had a much higher and much more positive trade exchange," added
Tajani.
"However, this does not mean that we do not want to continue to
have a strong trade relationship with China," he continued.
"In the last meeting we had at government level with our
directorates-general of the various ministries, we opened up new
opportunities for the fruit and vegetable sector, especially
pears, in the Chinese market," said Tajani.
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