Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who accompanied him, offered their peace gesture in Beijing. According to scant reports, the Italian president stressed the importance of dialogue and urged Xi Jinping to normalize relations. He stressed the need to avoid a return to a world of opposing blocs.
The Chinese leader praised that "China and Italy are both great civilizations" and urged that in an era of global change unparalleled for centuries, differences must be settled through dialogue.
According to ANSA, Xi Jinping recalled that the Italian president had visited him seven years ago, but as "a personal friend of the Chinese people and a personal friend of the Chinese people," they had kept in touch by phone and letter since then. The Italian news agency reports that ten agreements and memoranda.
According to press reports, the delegation led by Sergio Mattarella also aimed to encourage Xi Jinping to play a greater role in resolving the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Other issues discussed included the changing world order, the trade imbalance between Italy and China, Chinese expansion in Africa, the situation in Taiwan, and the possibility of deepening relations.
Italy joined the Belt and Road Initiative in 2019, but last year Rome withdrew. In addition, EU tariffs on Chinese electric cars were recently supported.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited China in the summer to patch up relations.
