Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's visit to China, like any other visit by a Western leader, is a tightrope walk. The difference with the visits of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron is that Italy and China actually see this visit as a new beginning for their relationship.
The reason is that Meloni canceled the plans of her predecessors for Italy to be part of China's "new silk road". With this initiative in 2013, Chinese leader Xi Jinping began making countries around the world financially and economically dependent on the People's Republic. Thus, 148 countries are now connected to China. Italy would become the first G-7 country to be economically dependent on Beijing.
Relief in Europe from Italy's position
The relief that Giorgia Meloni is giving up on this project must have been palpable in European capitals. After all, her party "Italian Brothers" romanticizes the fascist legacy of the Mussolini era. There were fears that Italy could become something of a vassal state of Beijing, a path that Hungary and Serbia had long since followed. After all, there is a similarity with the ethno-nationalism of Xi Jinping, who praises the "Han race”.
The nomenclature in Beijing had reasons to count on such a development, because in Budapest and Belgrade, where right-wing populists rule, as in Rome, the courting of China was really successful. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán torpedoes the European Union at every convenient opportunity, he also allows Chinese police to patrol Hungary, which poses a huge security risk to a free Europe. Orbán is also the closest ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the EU.
Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic may do less damage because his country is not yet a member of the EU. However, the status of a candidate country for membership, which Serbia received in 2012, must eventually turn into full membership sooner or later.
Better trade relations, but also an end to Beijing's support for Moscow
Under these conditions, Brussels was and continues to be pleased with the Italian leader regarding her relations with China: Meloni has not only withdrawn from the "New Silk Road", but like other Western allies, she is also standing firm on the side of Ukraine, which was attacked by Putin. Beijing seems poised to open a new chapter. After all, the People's Republic's ailing economy is dependent on Europe - just as many European economies are dependent on the Chinese market.
This is also the tone of official Chinese statements accompanying Meloni's state visit. The intention is to develop what is now ahead in a "more mature and stable direction,", it said. Like other Western guests before her, Meloni is trying to convince the People's Republic to stop supporting Putin's war on Ukraine. "There is growing uncertainty at the international level, and I think China is inevitably a very important partner in the dialogue to deal with all of these dynamics," Meloni said somewhat veiledly to Xi.
Meloni should be careful
The five days Meloni will spend in China will be devoted not so much to foreign policy as to economic policy. Chinese leaders are known for not giving up on things that are important to the Chinese Communist Party. This means that Beijing will continue to try to influence the policies of the "Old World" through Italy, which is among the founders of the European Union. Italian negotiators should keep this in mind - economic interests are always above all political interests for Xi Jinping.
Giorgia Meloni hopes to convince the Chinese leadership to invest, among other things, in the Italian automotive sector. If she doesn't exercise the necessary caution, however, she will be unpleasantly surprised in the near future. Xi has made no secret of his desire to replace the European car industry with a Chinese one. And it is not interested in the further autonomous existence of the Italian or German car industry.