Italy endorsed China’s ambitious “Belt and Road” infrastructure plan, becoming the first major Western power to back the initiative.
Italy is the thirteenth European Union country but the first G7 country to join China’s Belt Road Initiative.
The agreement is seen as a trade-off wherein Italy needs investment and China has those investment to provide.
Belt and Road Initiative
BRI is a development strategy adopted by the Chinese government involving infrastructure development and investments in 152 countries and international organizations in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Africa.
It is also known as the One Belt One Road (OBOR) or the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road.