Italy's exit from China's Belt & Road Initiative. Why India should be happy
China on its own terms. The summit between US President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping and the EU-China Summit underscores the reality that the West is no longer ready to budge on critical issues," he added. The expert mentioned China's failed strategy to create a divide between Europe and the US and its difficulties in dealing with them amid an economic crisis.
“China, for a change, tried really hard first to create a divide between Europe and the US, but as the move didn't succeed it is trying to now see how far it can work with Europe with its slow economy. It is a real crisis for China's policy towards the West, although the BRI has many takers in other parts of the world," Pant said. In terms of numbers, the BRI has been far from a game-changer for Italy's economy as the growth in exports remained limited.
As per the reports, Italy's exports to China increased from 14.5 billion euros to 18.5 billion euros after joining BRI, but the numbers are much better for China as its exports to Italy grew from 33.5 billion euros to 50.9 billion euros. However, experts continue to emphasise that Italy's decision to withdraw from the mega infrastructure project is a political one that symbolises China's position in the current geopolitical order. “I would say that it's a nation's own strategic choices which govern their decisions.
The same is the case with Italy. Any such decision is a political move. How much political it is in terms of catering it to domestic politics of Italy is yet to be fully assessed," Dr Martand Jha, Doctoral Fellow at Russian and Central Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University said.
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