Italy is the first G7 member country to integrate this phased project of maritime and terrestrial infrastructure launched by Beijing in 2013.
The Italian and Chinese governments signed on Saturday morning a "non-binding" memorandum of understanding to seal Italy's entry into the "new silk roads", despite the concerns of Brussels and Washington.
The agreements cover a total of 5 to 7 billion euros. Italy is the first G7 member country to integrate this pharaonic project of maritime and terrestrial infrastructure launched by Beijing in 2013. Before Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, the President of the National Commission for HE Lifeng, and the Italian Minister of Economic Development, Luigi Di Maio, solemnly signed the document.
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During the same ceremony, a total of 29 contracts or memoranda of understanding were signed, for two-thirds institutional and the last third for companies. According to the Italian media, the agreements bring a total of 5 to 7 billion euros - or even a "potential" of 20 billion euros according to the business daily Il Sole 24 Ore - and provide for Chinese investments, for now in the strategic ports of Genoa and Trieste.
China opens to Italian oranges. The contracts concern the Ansaldo group for the manufacture of turbines and the Danieli group, which wins a contract worth 1.1 billion euros for the construction of a steel plant in Azerbaijan. The agreements also provide for the opening of the Chinese market for Italian oranges, a partnership of the Chinese tourism giant Ctrip with the airports of Rome, the railway company Trenitalia and the Ferrari Museum in Modena (center), twinning programs or still a collaboration between public televisions and Chinese and Italian press agencies.