The decision to join the Silk Road multiplied China’s exports to Italy but did not have the same effect on Italian exports to China, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said. “The issue today is: how to walk back [from the BRI] without damaging relations [with Beijing], because it is true that China is a competitor, but it is also a partner,” Crosetto added. Italy signed up to the BRI under a previous government, becoming the only major Western country to have taken such a step.
Of course, they could. China seems to be more interested in gaining influence over its BRI partners’ economies than in mutual trade, though. Italy’s sentiment is here in line with practically all other nations that joined China’s BRI.