Italian Prime Minister Meloni vows to 'relaunch' bilateral relations with China

Mrs. Meloni described her trip as “showing the desire to start a new phase, to restart our cooperation between the two countries”.

He also said that the two countries have signed an agreement that aims to increase cooperation in electric vehicles and renewable energy.

In a statement issued by his office, Premier Li said the two countries intend to increase “beneficial cooperation between small and medium enterprises in the fields of shipbuilding, aerospace, new energy, artificial intelligence.”

Italy was the only major Western country to sign up for the BRI, one of China's ambitious infrastructure trade projects.

This move was heavily criticized at the time by the US and other major Western countries.

Since taking office in 2022, Ms. Meloni has wanted to lead a foreign policy that supports Western countries and NATO more than her predecessors.

Before withdrawing from the BRI, Ms Meloni described the previous government's decision to join it as a big mistake.

Under his leadership, Italy has moved to block a Chinese state-owned company from controlling tire maker Pirelli.

Rome also supported the European Commission's recent move to impose tariffs of up to 37.6% on electric vehicles imported from China.

Bilateral trade reached 66.8 billion euros (£56.3 billion) last year, making China Italy's largest non-EU trading partner after the US.