China-Italy Cooperation Under Belt And Road Plan To Benefit Both Sides - Beijing

The memorandum of understanding that is expected to be signed shortly by China and Italy as part of former's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would benefit both countries, which maintain traditionally friendly relations, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Wang Chao said on Wednesday

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th March, 2019) The memorandum of understanding that is expected to be signed shortly by China and Italy as part of former's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would benefit both countries, which maintain traditionally friendly relations, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Wang Chao said on Wednesday.

The memorandum of understanding will cement Rome's support for the BRI, an ambitious project that envisions a network of land and sea trade and communication routes linking China to Europe and the middle East. The signing ceremony is expected to take place during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Italy, which will start on Thursday.

Wang stressed at a press conference that both China and Italy placed great importance on their cooperation within the BRI, adding that Beijing appreciated Rome's active participation in the initiative, and that the signing of the relevant cooperation agreements was in the interest of both sides.

"China and Italy maintain a traditional friendship. In recent years, strategic mutual trust between the two countries continued to deepen, and we have managed to make many achievements in a number of areas, making a significant contribution to the economic development of both countries and expanded mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Italy, which corresponds to joint interests of Rome and Beijing," Wang added.

In an interview with an Italian newspaper last week, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the memorandum would provide Italian companies with valuable opportunities for growth and development as well as establish a mutually beneficial and equal basis for bilateral cooperation.

The BRI, which was first announced by Xi in 2013, mainly focuses on the Maritime Silk Route, which connects China and Europe, and the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt, which includes Central Asia, Russia and the Middle East.