Topics

  • Economy & trade
  • Tax & Accounting
  • Legal & regulatory
  • Industries
  • HR & Payroll
  • Technology

Features

  • Cities Spotlight
  • COVID-19 Insights
  • Opinion

Featured Events

  • May 19
    Counterstrategies for Rising Business Costs in China: Best Practices Sharing
  • May 24
    US Time Zone - How to Combat Rising Business Costs in China: Best Practices Sharing
  • Managing IP Protection When Selling to China via Cross-Border E-Commerce
    Managing IP Protection When Selling to China via Cross-Border E-Commerce
  • China's Tax Incentives for Enterprises in 2022: Updates Following the Two Sessions
    China's Tax Incentives for Enterprises in 2022: Updates Following the Two Sessions
  • Upcoming Events
  • On Demand library

Reports and Publications

Human Resources and Payroll in China 2022
How China is Reforming its Soe's to Become Mixed Hybrid Global Businesses Worth Tens of Billions of Dollars

Latest Video & Podcasts

How Your Domicile Defines Individual Income Tax Treatment in China and the UK
How Your Domicile Defines Individual Income Tax Treatment in China and the UK
Permanent Establishment and Employing People in China and the UK Series
Permanent Establishment and Employing People in China and the UK Series

About China Briefing

  • About us
  • Asia Briefing
  • Our Partners
  • Our Team
  • Media Kit
  • Contact


  • EN
  • EN
  • FR
  • DE
  • IT
  • RU
  • ES
  • CN
  • PT
SUBSCRIBE
  • Topics
  • Why Is Italy’s Government Considered Pro-China?

Why Is Italy’s Government Considered Pro-China?

June 17, 2019 Posted by China Briefing Reading Time: 4 minutes

Op/Ed by Joseph Percy

In March 2019, Italy became the first large economy to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – an infrastructure funding program to connect the trade routes of Asia with Africa and Europe.

The non-binding agreement, besides signaling other opportunities for investment, designates some of Italy’s ports to BRI trade routes, which could bring funding for infrastructure projects.

The signing is controversial because many believe the BRI is a political project to build global Chinese influence through foreign investment. For this reason, Italy’s pro-China stance has drawn wide criticism from other large Western economies, particularly those in the European Union (EU).

Strangely, however, polls of the four major EU economies – Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France – show that the Italian public had the least favorable view of the Chinese in 2018 by a reasonable margin.

Given the controversial nature of the MoU signing, it seems odd that the views of the Italian public do not line up with the government’s actions.

How Italy’s public views China

According to data collected by the Pew Research Center, Italians have the least favorable view of China of the four countries by 10 points and the least amount of confidence in China’s president, Xi Jinping, by 12 points.

As the poll was conducted in 2018, it is possible that the public sees President Xi more favorably after his visit to Italy this year, during which the MoU was signed.

Nevertheless, the Pew Research Center believes that Beijing’s human rights record might explain unfavorable views towards China. Their analysis across 26 countries showed a correlation between the two views. But, there are often multiple factors that contribute to political opinions.

Despite the public’s unfavorable view of China, Italy’s newest government – formed in March 2018 by the Five Star Movement and the Lega Nord – is considerably more pro-China than the other four major EU economies.

Aside from supporting the BRI, the government stated early that they were ready to cooperate with Huawei to provide 5G network infrastructure in Italy, a move that the United States has discouraged its allies from pursuing over concerns that spyware could be placed in the network.

Economic reasons spur Italy into pro-China stance

There are two reasons for Italy’s commitment to cooperation with China despite negative public opinion: growing dissatisfaction with the EU over economic issues  and the view that Italy has been missing out on job-creating Chinese investment and trade.

Although not all Italians are skeptical of the EU, polling shows that only 20 percent of Italians approve of the EU’s handling of economic issues. And the Pew Research Center also found a negative view of the EU was correlated with support for the Five Star Movement.

These views recently materialized in the 2018 budget, which will break EU budgetary requirements if it leaves Italy with a deficit of 2.4 percent of GDP for the next three years.

Breaking these rules means that Italy will no longer have access to financial assistance under the European Central Bank.

Related services

  • Want to Do Business in China? We Can Help

Since the 2008 global financial crisis, the Italian economy has seen fluctuating positive and negative growth.

As Italy moves to break some of its economic and political ties with the EU, they see China as a needed alternative source of funding.

Historically, Italy has received the lowest amount of Chinese greenfield investment of the four large EU economies. Greenfield investment tends to create more jobs and growth than mergers and acquisitions because business are built from the ground up.

Italian exports to China have also been reportedly at the lowest among the four countries since 2002. In 2017, the Italians exported a mere EUR 13 billion (US$14.5 billion) compared to Germany’s EUR 94 billion (US$104.9 billion).

Spurred by economic under-performance and increased dissatisfaction with the EU, the MoU makes the Italian government the most pro-China of the four large EU economies.

The new government’s change of wind might bring more investment and perhaps a greater number of trade deals to Italy. But, it comes at the expense of cutting some of its ties with Europe.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

About Us

China Briefing is produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The firm assists foreign investors throughout Asia from offices across the world, including in Dalian, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Readers may write to china@dezshira.com for more support on doing business in China.

Previous Article
« China Plus One Model, Vietnam’s Foreign Contractor Tax – China Outbound

Next Article
Looking at China Manufacturing Alternatives? Here Are the Websites to Read »

Related reading

  • May 01, 2018

    Dezan Shira & Associates' Service Brochure

    Dezan Shira & Associates´ brochure offers a comprehensive overview of the services provided by the firm. With its team of lawyers, tax experts, auditors and...

    DOWNLOAD
  • October 01, 2018

    An Introduction to Doing Business in China 2019

    Doing Business in China 2019 is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in China. Compiled by the professionals at Dezan Shira & Associates, this...

    DOWNLOAD
  • May 15, 2019

    Human Resources and Payroll in China 2019-2020

    A firm understanding of China’s laws and regulations related to human resources and payroll management is absolutely necessary for foreign businesses in...

    DOWNLOAD

Expand Your Business in Asia

Dezan Shira & Associates helps businesses establish, maintain, and grow their operations.

Learn More

New Asia Briefing Website is Live!More news, better regional coverage, and a cleaner look.VISIT ASIA BRIEFING

Recommended for you

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Stay Ahead of the curve in Emerging Asia. Our subscription service offers regular regulatory updates,
including the most recent legal, tax and accounting changes that affect your business.

About

  • Overview
  • Personnel
  • Expert Contributors
  • Social Media
  • Email Newsletter / Subscription Service

Topics

  • Economy & Trade
  • Tax & Accounting
  • Legal & Regulatory
  • Industries
  • Human Resources & Payroll

Bookstore

  • Visit Publications
  • My Account
  • My Order History
  • Products

Events

  • Upcoming Events
  • Event Archive
  • Asia Events
  • Global Events

Media Partners

  • Partners
  • Partnership Program
  • Regional Business News
  • Follow and Share
© 1992-2021 Dezan Shira & Associates All Rights Reserved.
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Create Account

  • The Asia Briefing Weekly newsletter
  • Downloadable magazines and guides
  • Business event invites
  • Asiapedia access
Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Log in to start browsing
our magazines and guides

LOGIN
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.

China Weekly Briefing

Sign up for your complimentary subscription to our weekly newsletter here.
No subscription charges!