Michele Geraci (Geraci), former undersecretary of state at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development
Editor's note:
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global cooperation platform that demonstrates China's vision for global development and offers solutions to the reform of the global governance system and multi-faceted challenges. Against this backdrop, the Global Times is publishing a series of interviews with renowned scholars, think tanks, and financial institutions, sharing their insights and understanding of how this initiative has earned global recognition and growing esteem. This is the 12th installment in the series.
The Global Times reporter Li Xuanmin (GT) recently conducted an interview with Michele Geraci (Geraci), former undersecretary of state at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development who was also a main architect behind Italy's joining of BRI back to 2019. Italy is the only G7 countries that have joined the initiative, and according to media reports, the Italian government is weighing on a decision to withdraw from the global cooperation platform. How would this potential decision impact China-Italy relations, and what benefits have Italy gained from joining BRI? Geraci shared his insights on these questions during the interview, while clarifying certain misunderstandings that downplay the potential results of BRI cooperation between China and Italy, as well as between other BRI participating countries.
GT: It is reported that the Italian government is considering withdrawing from BRI and a decision will be made later. What would the potential withdrawal mean?
