• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the country can improve trade and economic ties with China even after Rome’s decision to leave Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

• Italy has withdrawn from the deal, which was championed by China’s President Xi Jinping. 

• In 2019, Italy became the first and so far only major Western nation to join the trade and investment programme, ignoring warnings from the United States that it might allow China to take control of sensitive technologies and vital infrastructure.

• The 2019 accord expires in March 2024.

• When Meloni took office last year, she said she wanted to withdraw from the deal.

• Meloni has long been opposed to Italy’s participation in an initiative viewed by many as an attempt by Beijing to buy political influence — and whose benefits to Rome were limited.

What is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)?

• China’s President Xi Jinping launched multi-billion dollar BRI in 2013 to undertake big infrastructure projects in the world which in turn would also enhance Beijing’s global influence. 

• It aims to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.

• China has become a major trading partner for more than 140 countries and regions, it leads the world in total volume of trade in goods, and it is a major destination for global investment and a leading country in outbound investment. 

• As a collaborative endeavour, the BRI has been welcomed by the international community both as a public good and a cooperation platform, President Xi, who has aggressively promoted the BRI, said in a report he presented to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last month.

• The BRI is seen as an attempt by China to further its influence abroad with infrastructure projects funded by Chinese investments all over the world.

• The $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which connects Gwadar Port in Balochistan with Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of Xi's ambitious BRI.

• The 3,000-km long CPEC is a collection of infrastructure and other projects under construction throughout Pakistan since 2013. 

Why India opposes CPEC?

• India has been vocally objecting to China over the CPEC as it is being laid through the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). 

• The Indian government has conveyed its concerns to the Chinese side about their activities in areas illegally occupied by Pakistan in the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh and has asked them to cease such activities.

• Further, the government is of the firm belief that connectivity initiatives must be based on universally recognised international norms. They must follow principles of openness, transparency and financial responsibility and must be pursued in a manner that respects sovereignty, equality and territorial integrity of other nations.

• Beijing for its part is playing down India’s objections, saying it is an economic initiative and has not affected its principled stand on the Kashmir issue.

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