Populist premier Giuseppe Conte is attending a three-day conference in Beijing through Saturday on China’s massive infrastructure programme to re-create the old Silk Road, after Italy become the first G7 country to sign up to the project in March, despite criticism from the US.
"My visit to China will be a chance to resume the fruitful dialogue launched last month in Rome with President Xi Jinping in many areas of common interest," Conte tweeted on Friday.
Conte is among 37 world leaders attending forum on President Xi Jinping's signature foreign initiative - the multi-billion dollar Belt and Road project to expand trade by building roads, ports and facilities across Asia and Africa to Europe.
Russian president Vladimir Putin, UK chancellor Philip Hammond, Pakistan’s premier Imran Khan and the heads of state of the 10 Asean (Association of South-east Asian Nation) states are taking part in the forum while the US is reportedly sending a low-level delegation and India is not attending.
Conte was due to attend the forum's gala dinner on Friday together with Xi and his wife, as well as the Internal Monetary Fund's head Christine Lagarde and United Nations chief Antonio Guterres. He was earlier slated to meet representatives of China's Italian community at the Italian embassy.
Conte will on Saturday hold talks with Xi after the forum. On Sunday he will have a meeting with Chinese premier Li Keqiang before visiting the Forbidden City palace complex and an exhibition of some 800 treasures that Italy has returned to China, Conte's office said in a statement.
The Italian government inked a preliminary accord on the Belt and Road initiative during a visit to Rome by Xi in March that saw a total of 29 deals signed worth a total 2.8 billion dollars.
The potential value of those business accords with the Chinese is as much as 20 billion euros, giving Italy's recession-hit economy a much-needed boost, Italy's industry and welfare minister Luigi Di Maio claims.
