United States 'advises' Italy against joining Belt and Road initiative

WASHINGTON: The Italian government should not support China’s “Belt and Road” infrastructure plan, a spokesman for the White House’s group of national security advisers said on Saturday, calling it a “vanity project.”

“Italy is a major global economy and great investment destination. No need for the Italian government to lend legitimacy to China’s infrastructure vanity project,” said spokesman Garrett Marquis on Twitter.

On Friday, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte had said that he might sign an accord with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month, despite reports that the United States was concerned at the prospect of a key ally joining the venture.

Xi is due to travel to Italy from March 22-24, and Conte said Rome and Beijing were looking to agree on a framework deal during the state visit.

The “Belt and Road” plan, championed by Xi, aims to link China by sea and land with southeast and central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, through an infrastructure network on the lines of the old Silk Road.

Conte dismissed suggestions that the United States might penalise Rome if it signed up to the Chinese initiative. However, he added that security concerns over Chinese telecoms firms Huawei and ZTE should not be taken lightly.

On Friday, Italian premier had said he was trying to end international sanctions against Russia, which the ruling parties in Rome say are ineffective and hurt the Italian economy.

Speaking at a foreign policy conference in Genova, Conte said the sanctions, imposed after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, must never become an end in themselves.

When asked if Italy wanted them lifted, he replied: “We are working for this objective.”