The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, which was started by President Xi Jinping in 2013 to reconstruct China’s Silk Road, has drawn criticism from Italy’s defense minister, Guido Crosetto.
The initiative has spent billions on electricity and telecom infrastructure, ports, highways, and other infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia and Latin America.
China’s BRI
According to Crosetto, Italy‘s participation in the BRI program is “wicked,” and the present Italian administration is debating whether to keep taking part. Italy’s BRI membership will expire in 2024.
The government’s decision to join the Silk Road Initiative (BRI) was condemned by Italy’s defense minister, Guido Crosetto, as an impulsive act that had a poor result.
- Italy’s defense minister criticizes the BRI project’s Silk Road reconstruction.
- Italy’s BRI membership expires in 2024; Crosetto argues it’s “wicked.”
- Crosetto questioned Italy’s ability to leave BRI without damaging its relationship with China.
He condemned the rise in orange exports to China and the sale of expensive planes by Paris to Beijing in the absence of any agreements.
Crosetto referred to China as a rival and ally, and he questioned how Italy could leave the BRI without hurting its relationship with Beijing.
Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, has before asserted that positive relations could exist without the BRI.
