China: Italy's Meloni discusses 'priority' conflicts with Xi

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed "priority issues on the international agenda from the war in Ukraine to the risks of a further escalation of the situation in the Middle East," Meloni's office said in a statement. 

"They also discussed growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific" during Monday's talks, it said.

Meloni signed a trade deal with China's premier, Li Qiang, over the weekend at the start of her trip. 

China an 'important interlocutor' internationally, Meloni says

Meloni and Xi held talks at Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on Monday, with the Italian leader saying China had an important diplomatic role to play in the world. 

"There is growing insecurity at the international level and I think that China is inevitably a very important interlocutor to address all these dynamics," Meloni told Xi. 

China hosted talks between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah earlier this month, with the two groups signing agreeing, as China's foreign minsiter put it, to form an "interim national reconciliation government" to govern post-war Gaza.

China has also offered to mediate talks between Ukraine and Russia seeking an end to Russia's invasion. But the proposal that has been met some skepticism in the West, including recent accusations from the US saying that Beijing was effectively supporting Moscow's war effort with some key exports. 

Meloni told Xi that Italy and China should "think together on how to guarantee stability, how to guarantee peace." 

"Above all we need the system of rules in which we operate to remain stable," she said. 

Xi, meanwhile, hailed the "long-established friendly" ties between Beijing and Rome. 

"Both sides uphold tolerance, mutual trust and mutual respect, with each choosing its own development path," Xi said. 

Meloni's office said that the pair also discussed other pressing global issues like AI, climate change, and plans to reform the UN Security Council, where China is a veto-holder.

Meloni seeking to rebuild post-BRI bridges

Italy's right-wing prime minister is on her first trip to China since taking office two years ago. 

She ruffled feathers in Beijing early in her tenure by pulling Italy back out of planned participation in China's major Belt and Road Initiative, an international infrastructure and development project. 

Italy was by no means the only European country involved in some capacity, as Austria, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and others remain in the plans.

But Meloni's decision put Rome back in line with other major Western European powers like France, Germany, Spain and the UK, all of which have so far declined to participate.

On Sunday, in talks with China's premier, Li Qiang, Meloni said he visit aimed to "relaunch our bilateral cooperation." 

The pair then signed a bilateral action plan on future trade and other issues, which emphasized the importance of "ensuring that commercial relationships are balanced and mutually beneficial," as Meloni put it. 

The document said it aimed to ensure that "companies can operate on equal terms in a spirit of fair competition and free trade." 

msh/wmr (AFP, Reuters)