Beyond 40: Italy-China bilateral relations in the new decade
Taking stock of the current relations between Rome and Beijing in political, economic and cultural terms to assess potential avenues for deeper cooperation through the new decade. A project initiated at the Transatlantic Academy of the German Marshall Fund
In 2010 Italy and the People’s Republic of China celebrated the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. This commemoration, whose salience is more significant in the eyes of both parties than would generally be assumed, comes at a time when both the international order and the tools Italy employs to deal with it face unprecedented changes.
Emerging from the 2008 global recession as the second largest economy and the first exporter in the world, China continues to represent one of the most powerfully transformative forces in the global economy, and it is now a manifestly indispensable player in any attempt to tackle global challenges through multilateral action.
In Rome, a radical reform of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs designed to enhance Italy's capacity to frame foreign policy with a global outlook has yet to prove instrumental in providing the resources and coordination needed to optimize critical mass in dealing with Beijing, while the peculiar structure of the Italian economy struggles to adjust to the new challenges and opportunities nurtured by China’s growth.
This research - carried out by Giovanni Andornino - provides a comprehensive review of contemporary relations between Italy and China, where the dynamics of trade and investment are the key propellants of deepening ties, reinforced by a continuing transfer of public goods intended to benefit the two societies at large.
By leveraging the considerable reservoir of goodwill generated in China by such exchange of public goods, coupled with positive historical-cultural memories and a moderate approach towards Beijing’s core priorities, Italy now faces new opportunities of bilateral political engagement that may help fulfil the “strategic” ambitions ostensibly attached to the partnership by both sides.
Emerging from the 2008 global recession as the second largest economy and the first exporter in the world, China continues to represent one of the most powerfully transformative forces in the global economy, and it is now a manifestly indispensable player in any attempt to tackle global challenges through multilateral action.
In Rome, a radical reform of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs designed to enhance Italy's capacity to frame foreign policy with a global outlook has yet to prove instrumental in providing the resources and coordination needed to optimize critical mass in dealing with Beijing, while the peculiar structure of the Italian economy struggles to adjust to the new challenges and opportunities nurtured by China’s growth.
This research - carried out by Giovanni Andornino - provides a comprehensive review of contemporary relations between Italy and China, where the dynamics of trade and investment are the key propellants of deepening ties, reinforced by a continuing transfer of public goods intended to benefit the two societies at large.
By leveraging the considerable reservoir of goodwill generated in China by such exchange of public goods, coupled with positive historical-cultural memories and a moderate approach towards Beijing’s core priorities, Italy now faces new opportunities of bilateral political engagement that may help fulfil the “strategic” ambitions ostensibly attached to the partnership by both sides.
