Italy Seeks to Build Base for Long-Term Partnership With China

Italy wants to build a “long-term partnership” with China, the latest effort in a charm offensive that Rome is conducting after exiting Xi Jinping’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative.

“We are convinced we can open a new and more important phase in the strategic partnership between Italy and China,” Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said in a statement Friday, during a trip to Beijing. “It’s the right time to do more and better.”

Urso met with a number of politicians and businesspeople, including executives from EV makers Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Chery Automobile Co. and CCIG. The latter expressed ...