INCLUDES STRATEGIC INDUSTRIAL SECTORS SUCH AS ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND RENEWABLES
“The two countries will participate in supercharged trade spanning electric vehicles to renewable energy.”
Italy and China have signed a three-year action plan to implement past accords, to explore new forms of co-operation and to foster collaboration in sectors such as auto manufacturing. These moves are amid growing trade tensions between China and the European Union (EU) bureaucracy based in Brussels.
The agreement was announced in Beijing by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during her official 5 day visit to China, where she held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
On July 30, President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Beijing.
As part of the plan, the two countries will participate in supercharged trade spanning electric vehicles to renewable energy, according to Maloni.
China is Italy’s biggest non-EU trading partner after the US.
Meloni’s visit comes just a year after Italy’s withdrawal from China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese state media said the trip was aimed at “clarifying some misunderstandings” over Italy’s withdrawal from the Belt and Road and stressing the importance of economic ties.
In 2019, Italy became the only Group of Seven country to join the massive Belt and Road Initiative but withdrew last year under heavy US pressure over “concerns about Beijing’s economic reach”.
Still, Italy remains keen to pursue a 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.
The joint venture will begin selling EVs in nine European countries in September 2024 – in Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Portugal, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in May.
Video: https://youtu.be/rI8WAhxI50M
Sources:
- Amwal al Ghad, Jul 28, 2024.https://en.amwalalghad.com/italy-china-sign-3-yr…/
- RTHK, Jul 28, 2024. https://news.rthk.hk/…/component/k2/1763565-20240728.htm
- Video: https://youtu.be/rI8WAhxI50M