Italy will sign a memorandum of understanding with China to officially support Beijing's massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

The signing will take place during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Rome on March 20, and will make Italy the first G7 nation to join the so-called "New Silk Road" project, Manlio Di Stefano told La Stampa daily.

Xi Jinping "will meet the head of government and the President of the Republic. There will be economic meetings since he will be accompanied by a team of entrepreneurs, and a memorandum of understanding will be signed," he said.

However, the "memorandum is not binding", he said in a bid to quell concern in the United States and other Western countries that the ambitious infrastructure project could be a Trojan horse for Chinese expansion.

"It does not have the status of an international agreement", he added.

Neither, he said, does it concern the telecoms sector, access to which critics fear could allow China to create "backdoors" that could allow Beijing to spy on countries.

Related Links
Global Trade News

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Brazil's Bolsonaro to visit Trump this month
Washington (AFP) March 9, 2019
US President Donald Trump will host his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro on March 19, the White House said Friday, the first meeting between the two rightwing leaders who have lavished praise on each other. The visit was announced by Brazil's foreign ministry last month but a firm date had not been finalized. Bolsonaro, who entered office in January, has vowed to forge close ties with Washington after over a decade of leftist rule in Brazil, and has been dubbed "South America's Trump." ... read more