Italy will not change its geostrategic alliances despite its ever-stronger relations with China, foreign minister Luigi Di Maio said on Wednesday.
"The idea that help from abroad may alter geostrategic alliances is a distinctively Italian one. Italy is a member of the Euro-Atlantic alliance, of Nato and the European Union," Di Maio told SkyTG24 in an interview.
But Italy has always had friendly ties with many countries around the world and been "a bridge between the east and the west," Di Maio said.
"To help our export firms, we have strengthened our relationships with a strategic trading partner like China. This will not change our geostrategic alliances," Di Maio underlined.
Since the outbreak of Italy's dramatic coronavirus epidemic in February, the foreign ministry has signed contracts with China to supply millions of testing kits, protective face masks and other equipment for frontline medical workers fighting Covid-19.
Chinese and Italian researchers are also working together on coronavirus mutations whose discovery they hope will help eradicate the deadly respiratory disease.
