(Bloomberg) -- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered to broker better trade relations between China and the European Union, calling on President Xi Jinping to “balance out” commercial relations between the bloc and the world’s second-biggest economy.
“Italy can have an important role in EU relations and creating balanced relations,” Meloni said Monday in her first official visit to China since coming to power in 2022. “We need a rules-based order” as a way “to guarantee stability, peace, trade that remains free,” she said.
Getting the EU-China relationship back on track may prove a challenge for Meloni because she has limited sway over the bloc’s trade policy, which is run by the European Commission.
The Italian premier was sidelined following European parliamentary elections in June, when she was left out of the closed-door negotiations over the union’s top jobs.
Still, Meloni’s right-wing party had a strong showing, creating a potential political opening for her at a time when the leaders of France and Germany emerged weaker from the ballot.
First Trip
Meloni made the remarks during a five-day trip to China meant to renew ties between Rome and Beijing after she snubbed Xi’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative last year. Italy had been the only Group of Seven country to join the investment pact seen as extending Beijing’s global clout, angering its US and European allies.
Meanwhile, recent tit-for-tat measures have raised concerns about a looming trade war between Beijing and some of its biggest partners. China’s trade surplus hit a record high in June as exports surged, raising the risk of the US and Europe stepping up efforts to shield their markets.
Speaking on Monday, Xi told Meloni he was hopeful that Italy could provide a fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese firms.
Beijing is willing to drive cooperation with Italy in areas that include manufacturing and technology, Xi said in remarks broadcast on China Central Television. China is also willing to explore joint efforts with the country on artificial intelligence and electric vehicles, he added.
Meloni’s talks with Xi also ranged over “the priority issues on the international agenda,” from the war in Ukraine to the deteriorating situation in the Middle East and tensions in the Indo-Pacific, according to the Italian presidency.
“The main themes of the bilateral relationship were discussed, from economic and commercial issues to collaboration in the scientific and cultural fields,” it said.
On Sunday, China and Italy signed a three-year plan that includes agreements on food security, industrial capacity, trade, investment, education and environmental protection, while reaffirming the importance of balanced and mutually beneficial trade relations. Meloni said Rome would explore new ways of working with China.
The accords between the two sides included pledges to foster collaboration in renewables and a commitment to protect each other’s intellectual properties.
The visit is also part of broader efforts to position the Italian premier as a key diplomatic counterpart to Xi ahead of a volatile US election that could see former President Donald Trump return to the White House and upend Washington’s ties with Europe.
Meloni views Xi as someone who could become an important stakeholder in the Ukraine war if Washington were to pull support, as Trump has threatened, Bloomberg News previously reported.
“There’s growing insecurity on a global level,” Meloni said. “I think China is inevitably a very important interlocutor to deal with these dynamics.”
(Updates with details of talks starting in 10th paragraph.)
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