China syndromeItaly’s Risky Realignment

By Etienne Soula

Published 10 July 2019

The Kremlin actively helped two Italian populist parties – The League and the Five Star movement – to reach power in Rome. The goal: Weaken the West and undermine the U.S.-created post-WWII international order. The Italian government is now repaying its supporters, formally endorsing China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is meant to anchor an increasingly proselytizing authoritarian regime as the center of the global economy. Italy is thus helping the world’s most powerful authoritarian state establish a beachhead in southern Europe, threatening European strategic sectors, and publicly distancing itself from the EU’s efforts to respond to a “systemic rival.”

Every Italian learns about Marco Polo, a young merchant who left his native Venice in 1271, travelled to China, and returned home twenty-four years later with riches and treasure. Today, Italy’s government is betting that moving closer to Beijing will yield a similar bounty for its economy. This is why, earlier this year, Italy formally endorsed Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — an ostensibly benign push for improved infrastructure that is in fact meant to anchor an increasingly proselytizing authoritarian regime as the center of the global economy. After a three-day trip to Italy by Xi, representatives of both countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that lays down a framework for closer cooperation between both countries.

By intensifying economic cooperation with the Chinese party-state, Italy is helping the world’s most powerful authoritarian state establish a beachhead in southern Europe, threatening European strategic sectors, and publicly distancing itself from the EU’s efforts to respond to a “systemic rival.”

What Rome’s Endorsement of BRI Means for Beijing
Italy’s participation in BRI has given Xi a “significant political boost” at home. Italy has the Eurozone’s third highest GDP and is the largest economy to have signed up to BRI so far. It is also the first EU founding member, as well as the first G7 member, to formally endorse Beijing’s initiative.