Italy reportedly drops out of China Belt and Road initiative that failed to deliver

MILAN (AP) — Media reports say Italy has formally withdrawn from China’s global Belt and Road initiative that seeks to deepen relations with foreign countries through infrastructure investments. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni had previously signaled Italy’s intention to withdraw from the agreement, which was up for renewal. The Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that a letter with the formal notice was delivered to Beijing in recent days. Meloni’s office declined to comment. Italy became the first G7 country to sign on to the initiative in 2019, but the hoped for infrastructure investments and boost in Chinese trade never appeared. In fact, Italy’s trade deficit with China ballooned from 20 billion euros to 48 billion euros in the period.