Po 7 mesecih od prihoda na oblast in pompoznega izstopa iz partnerstva s Kitajsko v Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) se je Melonijeva odločila, da (s hčerko) odpotuje za 5 dni na Kitajsko in da deklarativno ponovno obnovi partnerstvo s Kitajsko. V treh letih bo implementirala sporazume, ki jih je odpovedala na podlagi pritiska ZDA.

Medklic: Pri BRI ne gre za politična zavezništva ali gospodarske sporazume, pač pa za načelni sporazum o skupni gradnji infrastrukturnih projektov, kot so transportne povezave.

Vendar pa, resnici na ljubo, razen političnega prestiža ta aktivnost Italije nima nekega večjega realnega pomena. Gre seveda za prestiž v korist Kitajske: po eni strani Kitajska s tem enega za enim razbija enotnost G7 (po Macronu in Scholzu) v politiki do Kitajske, ko jo diktirajo ZDA zaradi svojih interesov, na drugi strani pa je uradni Peking ponižal Melonijevo, ki je morala požreti svoje prenagljene poteze. Italija tudi sicer ni nek igralec v Evropi, hkrati pa je njeno gospodarsko sodelovanje s Kitajsko dokaj omejeno, zato Melonijevo v Bloombergu opozarjajo, naj se ne precenjuje.

When Meloni came to power, she immediately came under pressure to pick a side and she did: she chose Italy’s traditional Western allies. But as a middling G-7 economy she also couldn’t afford to burn bridges with Xi Jinping.

So seven months on from that fateful diplomatic moment, the Italian leader disembarked the presidential plane, holding her daughter Ginevra by the hand, and headed into a high-stakes meeting with the Chinese president, having taken in how France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz fared.

Macron’s visit in April 2023 was criticized for too much cozying up to Xi and a comment about how Europe should resist becoming America’s “vassals.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accompanied him and was damningly treated as a senior official.

Scholz didn’t have much to show from his trip earlier this year given the volume of bilateral trade, which at more than $200 billion last year exceeded France and Italy’s China trade combined. 

A measure of how Meloni did is reflected in Chinese state media reporting of the event. They were effusive about her pitch to make Italy a go-between.

That, in fairness, is wishful thinking. Italy may be punching above its weight but Meloni will need to be careful not to overplay her hand.

Vir: Bloomberg