Italy becomes first G7 nation to officially join BRI

[TaiShang]

Italy becomes first G7 nation to officially join BRI

Updated 23:09, 23-Mar-2019
CGTN


China and Italy signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on Saturday. This makes Italy the first G7 nation to officially join the BRI.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte exchanged views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern on Saturday in Rome, and witnessed the signing of the China-Italy agreement on jointly promoting the construction of the Belt and Road.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said the contracts signed between China and Italy on Saturday are worth 2.5 billion euros (2.8 billion U.S. dollars), and subsequent contracts may exceed 20 billion euros. He stressed that the MoU is very important to Italy.

Xi: China to expand and deepen bilateral relations with Italy

During his meeting with Conte, Xi said China is ready to expand and deepen bilateral relations in an all-round way with Italy. He called for both countries to strengthen high-level exchanges and increase dialogue at all levels, and continue to understand and support each other on issues involving core interests and major concerns.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte shake hands after signing trade agreements at Villa Madama in Rome, March 23, 2019. /Reuters Photo

Xi also urged the two countries to accelerate the China-EU investment agreement negotiations, and strengthen communication and coordination on major international and regional issues. He said he hoped that Italy will continue to play an active role in deepening China-EU dialogue and cooperation in various fields and promoting steady development of China-EU relations.

Read more on Xi's signed article ahead of his state visit to Italy:

Xi said China to strengthen comprehensive strategic partnership with Italy

Conte said Italy is willing to deepen its comprehensive strategic partnership with China and expand cooperation on the economy, trade, investment, energy, agriculture, culture and tourism.

He said he is very glad to seize the opportunity and participate in the joint construction of the Belt and Road and is convinced that it will help to fully tap the potential of Italy-China cooperation. He said he is looking forward to attending the second Belt and Road forum for international cooperation in Beijing.

Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan and Italian Minister of Labor and Industry Luigi Di Maio shake hands after signing trade agreements at Villa Madama in Rome, Italy March 23, 2019. /Reuters Photo

Italy firmly supports multilateralism and free trade and is willing to closely communicating and coordinating with China and promote the healthy and stable development of EU-China relations, Conte said.

Read more:

China, Italy to put more concrete and steel into BRI

Joint communique: Huge potential of cooperation under BRI

In a joint communique on strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership, China and Italy said they were both pleased about the signing of the MoU. The statement said they recognize the great potential of the BRI in promoting connectivity and stand ready to strengthen the alignment of the BRI and Trans-European Transport Networks and deepen cooperation in ports, logistics, marine transportation and other areas.

Chinese Director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration Liu Yuzhu and Italian Minister of Culture Alberto Bonisoli pose after signing trade agreements at Villa Madama in Rome, Italy March 23, 2019. /Reuters Photo

The two countries believe they have made great progress in political mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership, it continued. As they will usher in the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations next year, both are ready to further promote the development of their partnership in the manner of mutual respect and mutual benefit.

In the communique, China and Italy emphasize their willingness to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change as well as strengthen cooperation in the UN, the G20, the WTO and the Asia-Europe Meeting.

Both countries reaffirm their commitment to multilateralism and agree to take concrete actions to maintain a solid, open and inclusive world economy.

Italy also expresses support for the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership. Both nations are committed to the full implementation of the EU-China 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation, and seek greater synergy between the BRI and Europe's development strategies.

China and Italy agree to deepen cooperation in various areas including the environment, education, culture, space and agriculture, according to the communique.

During Xi's visit to Italy, the two countries signed 19 intergovernmental bilateral cooperation documents.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d674e7859544e33457a6333566d54/index.html

 

[Ryan]

It looks like the first domino to fall. Next, I am looking forward to seeing the industrial power houses Germany and Japan to follow Italy's steps.

 

[Yongpeng Sun-Tastaufen]

It looks like the first domino to fall. Next, I am looking forward to seeing the industrial power houses Germany and Japan to follow Italy's steps.

Doubt it. Germany and Japan have a lot of national pride. Italy not so much. A faded past power.

 

[Ryan]

Doubt it. Germany and Japan have a lot of national pride. Italy not so much. A faded past power.

well, you never know. The national interest triumphs the national pride. When a deal is sweet enough and juicy enough, I am sure Gemrany, Japan, UK, France will make a good and wise choice.

 

[艹艹艹]

Doubt it. Germany and Japan have a lot of national pride. Italy not so much. A faded past power.

example：
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

 

[ARMalik]

Doubt it. Germany and Japan have a lot of national pride. Italy not so much. A faded past power.

If you knew basic economics, you wouldn't be making such statements. Italy is smart. Its economy is in trouble since they are in a Recession and their growth has stalled. Joining BRI would give them opportunities to explore other avenues of growth and hence revive Italy's economy.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Italy made a smart move

 

[Beast]

Italy also embrace Huawei 5G and stop of listening to American BS of huawei spying.

 

[Verve]

Very interesting ... EU is crumbling slowly.

 

[maximuswarrior]

Worst nightmare of the US and EU. They are crumbling like a house of cards.

Doubt it. Germany and Japan have a lot of national pride. Italy not so much. A faded past power.

LOL we will see how much pride these nations have when an offer is made they cannot refuse.

 

[TaiShang]

Very interesting ... EU is crumbling slowly.

I think this cannot be characterized as crumbling. Unlike the US, China supports EU's integrity and voice as an independent global actor.

What is crumbling, hopefully, not the EU itself, but the yoke the US placed upon Europe through its heavy militarized presence.

 

[lcloo]

Doubt it. Germany and Japan have a lot of national pride. Italy not so much. A faded past power.

What kind of national pride would they lost? Germany and France are always proud to be associated with China in trades.

Germany's chancellor Merkel visited China more than any other world leaders except Putin. And France has cleverly bypassed the arms embargo against China in the last 30 years, in joint production of helicopters, engines and licence production of Super Frelon and Dauphin in the form of Z8 and Z9, and Z15.

And Japan had already stated its interest, especially thro the land route to Europe.

..."Projects like the Belt-and-Road debt-for-development initiative has made China an influential player in poorer eastern EU members like Hungary and Greece.

But Germany and China are on the same side in the trade disputes that are dividing the West, with both manufacturing export powerhouses vulnerable to protectionist measures favoured by U.S. President Donald Trump. "

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-e...ermanys-2020-presidency-sources-idUKKCN1P81FC

 

[Galactic Penguin SST]

GAME OVER!

Commentary


China wins with soft power and in the heart of Rome! This, while the Soviet Union lost the Cold war by pitting the Eastern hemisphere with the Western one, symbolized by the Berlin Wall. China connects the two hemispheres with roads and infrastructures. Thus heading toward a position of global dominance!

“For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the supreme of excellence. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence.”

-Sun Tzu, "The Art of War", 512 BC
​

No wonder, as Rome was always lagging so far behind the Chinese Civilization over the past 12 millenia, and today's final acknowledgement of China as their leader, though belated, shows their awakening.


Pointless to resist. Greece was only the start as the weakest point in the Hadrian's Wall. Next to bow willingly before China's economic might will be the Northmen of Lutetia (Provincia Gallia), Londinium (Provincia Britannia) then Augusta Treverorum (Provincia Germania) !


Statistically, that is over 12'000 years of human recorded demographic history, China has always lead, second to none.

https://imgur.com/z5YzYgm

https://i.imgur.com/z5YzYgm.mp4 ; https://imgur.com/gallery/aOhIuEF ; https://themasites.pbl.nl/tridion/en/themasites/hyde/basicdrivingfactors/population/index-2.html
▲ 1. Population Through the Ages.
12'000 years of Population estimates are from the History Database of the Global Environment (HYDE).

▲ 2. The Three Great Powers of the Next World Order: Pole Position for the PRC.

 

[TaiShang]

The China-Europe relationship is large and getting bigger

Bobby Naderi

Updated 11:31, 26-Mar-2019

Editor's note: Bobby Naderi is a journalist, current affairs commentator, documentary filmmaker and member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.


On Monday, March 25, China signed a deal to buy 300 aircraft from European plane maker Airbus during President Xi Jinping's state visit to France.

In addition to several bilateral agreements, the world's second and the sixth largest economies signed 15 business deals on energy, the food industry, transport and other sectors in the presence of President Xi and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.

France was the last leg of President Xi's three-nation European tour that had taken him to Italy and Monaco, during which a wide range of trade deals were signed with Italy, the European Union's third largest economy. Notably, the founding member of the European Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global development project that incorporates cooperation agreements with over 120 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

It should stun no one, therefore, that these trade agreements and diplomatic overtures have generated mixed feelings in the United States, which treats Europe as a vassal and a competitor in its tariff war. All the same, the U.S. administration and its media lackeys want to give the impression that the official class in Beijing are gaming Europe, too.

Chinese president Xi Jinping (L) meets wit Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte, March 23, 2019. /Xinhua Photo

This falsehood is so established. President Xi didn't force his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, to endorse the BRI. He didn't force Prince Albert II of Monaco to choose greater trade and economic cooperation with China. And, certainly, he didn't force his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, to sell 300 aircraft, sign business deals, or tell him to "join the BRI or else."

It's an insult to intelligence to suggest that Europe is “a soft target” and “under attack” from a globalist campaign by China. Europe, however, has made a choice and Washington cannot do anything about it: Europe is open for business with China, and if in this there are “warning alerts flashing red and ubiquitous,” they are only from Washington. Yes, the EU is “undergoing a multipronged, hybrid attack,” but the flashing signs should represent this:

China has no intention to take over Europe or add new countries to the War Party's black book of failed states. China's BRI and trade agreements are not there to weaken Europe and sow internal divisions. Long before President Xi's state visits, Europe was on a tear because of Washington's endless war. The War Party, as well, was on a tear, unable to offer any alternative but harmful tariffs to the EU market of 500 million consumers.

For all its bellicose rhetoric, a bankrupt government with less-than-stellar record, that according to the Pentagon regime is deeply involved “in over 150 overt and covert wars,” has little chance in alleviating poverty at home, let alone fund a global development project like the BRI to offer economic assistance to member states. The Sinophobes are only there to strengthen America's tenuous grip on global power – with little care for global trade agreements and treaties.

In contrast, China is an economic superpower and it's hard to see how Europe's diplomatic cooperation and trade agreements with Beijing will not benefit its ailing economies. On balance, the Trumpsters play an open-ended trade war with contradictory ambitions in order to dominate European markets, roll back China, and in pursuit of these, re-draw the map of global trade to suit America's geopolitical objectives and interests.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in the southern French city of Nice, March 24, 2019. /Xinhua Photo

One way or another, the plan is in motion, charged with imperial hubris. The Tumpsters have skin in the game and the impression becomes unavoidable that they want to exclude China from the European market in order to accelerate the push for domination. However, their ambitious campaign is a mile wide and an inch deep, in which the potential for doing harm rivals the possibility of doing good.

By inviting President Xi to Europe, Italy and France established that the lone ranger's “trade fight by committee” for a full spectrum dominance is unacceptable. Here, Washington is playing the role of sheriff without the posse – trying to level the playing field unilaterally with tariff wars on Europe and trade on China. There are no allies in this unwinnable battle and many are unwilling to sign on to its geopolitical fantasies.

It is said "empires have ways of not only rising and thriving but of declining and expiring." By questioning the integrity of President Xi's diplomatic overtures, and by being unable to adjust their one-sided foreign policy to global changes, or respond to the associated economic challenges of the EU, the official class in Washington put on display yet again that the greater the sense and fear of imperial decay and decline, the greater the colonial hubris and arrogance of power.

It is against this backdrop that we can better understand why President Xi's state visits produced win-win results for both China and the EU, and why Rome and Paris refused to take part in Trump's poor judgement and doomed imperial obsession with the Asian giant.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d514f30456a4e33457a6333566d54/index.html

The China-Europe relationship is large and getting bigger

Bobby Naderi

Updated 11:31, 26-Mar-2019

Editor's note: Bobby Naderi is a journalist, current affairs commentator, documentary filmmaker and member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.


On Monday, March 25, China signed a deal to buy 300 aircraft from European plane maker Airbus during President Xi Jinping's state visit to France.

In addition to several bilateral agreements, the world's second and the sixth largest economies signed 15 business deals on energy, the food industry, transport and other sectors in the presence of President Xi and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.

France was the last leg of President Xi's three-nation European tour that had taken him to Italy and Monaco, during which a wide range of trade deals were signed with Italy, the European Union's third largest economy. Notably, the founding member of the European Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global development project that incorporates cooperation agreements with over 120 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

It should stun no one, therefore, that these trade agreements and diplomatic overtures have generated mixed feelings in the United States, which treats Europe as a vassal and a competitor in its tariff war. All the same, the U.S. administration and its media lackeys want to give the impression that the official class in Beijing are gaming Europe, too.

Chinese president Xi Jinping (L) meets wit Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte, March 23, 2019. /Xinhua Photo

This falsehood is so established. President Xi didn't force his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, to endorse the BRI. He didn't force Prince Albert II of Monaco to choose greater trade and economic cooperation with China. And, certainly, he didn't force his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, to sell 300 aircraft, sign business deals, or tell him to "join the BRI or else."

It's an insult to intelligence to suggest that Europe is “a soft target” and “under attack” from a globalist campaign by China. Europe, however, has made a choice and Washington cannot do anything about it: Europe is open for business with China, and if in this there are “warning alerts flashing red and ubiquitous,” they are only from Washington. Yes, the EU is “undergoing a multipronged, hybrid attack,” but the flashing signs should represent this:

China has no intention to take over Europe or add new countries to the War Party's black book of failed states. China's BRI and trade agreements are not there to weaken Europe and sow internal divisions. Long before President Xi's state visits, Europe was on a tear because of Washington's endless war. The War Party, as well, was on a tear, unable to offer any alternative but harmful tariffs to the EU market of 500 million consumers.

For all its bellicose rhetoric, a bankrupt government with less-than-stellar record, that according to the Pentagon regime is deeply involved “in over 150 overt and covert wars,” has little chance in alleviating poverty at home, let alone fund a global development project like the BRI to offer economic assistance to member states. The Sinophobes are only there to strengthen America's tenuous grip on global power – with little care for global trade agreements and treaties.

In contrast, China is an economic superpower and it's hard to see how Europe's diplomatic cooperation and trade agreements with Beijing will not benefit its ailing economies. On balance, the Trumpsters play an open-ended trade war with contradictory ambitions in order to dominate European markets, roll back China, and in pursuit of these, re-draw the map of global trade to suit America's geopolitical objectives and interests.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in the southern French city of Nice, March 24, 2019. /Xinhua Photo

One way or another, the plan is in motion, charged with imperial hubris. The Tumpsters have skin in the game and the impression becomes unavoidable that they want to exclude China from the European market in order to accelerate the push for domination. However, their ambitious campaign is a mile wide and an inch deep, in which the potential for doing harm rivals the possibility of doing good.

By inviting President Xi to Europe, Italy and France established that the lone ranger's “trade fight by committee” for a full spectrum dominance is unacceptable. Here, Washington is playing the role of sheriff without the posse – trying to level the playing field unilaterally with tariff wars on Europe and trade on China. There are no allies in this unwinnable battle and many are unwilling to sign on to its geopolitical fantasies.

It is said "empires have ways of not only rising and thriving but of declining and expiring." By questioning the integrity of President Xi's diplomatic overtures, and by being unable to adjust their one-sided foreign policy to global changes, or respond to the associated economic challenges of the EU, the official class in Washington put on display yet again that the greater the sense and fear of imperial decay and decline, the greater the colonial hubris and arrogance of power.

It is against this backdrop that we can better understand why President Xi's state visits produced win-win results for both China and the EU, and why Rome and Paris refused to take part in Trump's poor judgement and doomed imperial obsession with the Asian giant.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d514f30456a4e33457a6333566d54/index.html

The China-Europe relationship is large and getting bigger

Bobby Naderi

Updated 11:31, 26-Mar-2019

Editor's note: Bobby Naderi is a journalist, current affairs commentator, documentary filmmaker and member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.


On Monday, March 25, China signed a deal to buy 300 aircraft from European plane maker Airbus during President Xi Jinping's state visit to France.

In addition to several bilateral agreements, the world's second and the sixth largest economies signed 15 business deals on energy, the food industry, transport and other sectors in the presence of President Xi and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.

France was the last leg of President Xi's three-nation European tour that had taken him to Italy and Monaco, during which a wide range of trade deals were signed with Italy, the European Union's third largest economy. Notably, the founding member of the European Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global development project that incorporates cooperation agreements with over 120 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

It should stun no one, therefore, that these trade agreements and diplomatic overtures have generated mixed feelings in the United States, which treats Europe as a vassal and a competitor in its tariff war. All the same, the U.S. administration and its media lackeys want to give the impression that the official class in Beijing are gaming Europe, too.

Chinese president Xi Jinping (L) meets wit Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte, March 23, 2019. /Xinhua Photo

This falsehood is so established. President Xi didn't force his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, to endorse the BRI. He didn't force Prince Albert II of Monaco to choose greater trade and economic cooperation with China. And, certainly, he didn't force his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, to sell 300 aircraft, sign business deals, or tell him to "join the BRI or else."

It's an insult to intelligence to suggest that Europe is “a soft target” and “under attack” from a globalist campaign by China. Europe, however, has made a choice and Washington cannot do anything about it: Europe is open for business with China, and if in this there are “warning alerts flashing red and ubiquitous,” they are only from Washington. Yes, the EU is “undergoing a multipronged, hybrid attack,” but the flashing signs should represent this:

China has no intention to take over Europe or add new countries to the War Party's black book of failed states. China's BRI and trade agreements are not there to weaken Europe and sow internal divisions. Long before President Xi's state visits, Europe was on a tear because of Washington's endless war. The War Party, as well, was on a tear, unable to offer any alternative but harmful tariffs to the EU market of 500 million consumers.

For all its bellicose rhetoric, a bankrupt government with less-than-stellar record, that according to the Pentagon regime is deeply involved “in over 150 overt and covert wars,” has little chance in alleviating poverty at home, let alone fund a global development project like the BRI to offer economic assistance to member states. The Sinophobes are only there to strengthen America's tenuous grip on global power – with little care for global trade agreements and treaties.

In contrast, China is an economic superpower and it's hard to see how Europe's diplomatic cooperation and trade agreements with Beijing will not benefit its ailing economies. On balance, the Trumpsters play an open-ended trade war with contradictory ambitions in order to dominate European markets, roll back China, and in pursuit of these, re-draw the map of global trade to suit America's geopolitical objectives and interests.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in the southern French city of Nice, March 24, 2019. /Xinhua Photo

One way or another, the plan is in motion, charged with imperial hubris. The Tumpsters have skin in the game and the impression becomes unavoidable that they want to exclude China from the European market in order to accelerate the push for domination. However, their ambitious campaign is a mile wide and an inch deep, in which the potential for doing harm rivals the possibility of doing good.

By inviting President Xi to Europe, Italy and France established that the lone ranger's “trade fight by committee” for a full spectrum dominance is unacceptable. Here, Washington is playing the role of sheriff without the posse – trying to level the playing field unilaterally with tariff wars on Europe and trade on China. There are no allies in this unwinnable battle and many are unwilling to sign on to its geopolitical fantasies.

It is said "empires have ways of not only rising and thriving but of declining and expiring." By questioning the integrity of President Xi's diplomatic overtures, and by being unable to adjust their one-sided foreign policy to global changes, or respond to the associated economic challenges of the EU, the official class in Washington put on display yet again that the greater the sense and fear of imperial decay and decline, the greater the colonial hubris and arrogance of power.

It is against this backdrop that we can better understand why President Xi's state visits produced win-win results for both China and the EU, and why Rome and Paris refused to take part in Trump's poor judgement and doomed imperial obsession with the Asian giant.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d514f30456a4e33457a6333566d54/index.html