Maslova Elena Aleksandrovna – Ph.D. in Political Sciences, Associate Professor, Department for Integration Studies, MGIMO University
The article analyzes Italy’s policy towards China as an example of a behavioral-identitarian foreign policy approach of a «middle power». The theoretical and methodological framework of the analysis is A. Haller’s concept of the «significant Other». Italy is a «middle power» with global interests, which is expressed, in particular, in the signing of agreements with third countries outside the perimeter of NATO and the EU. In 2019, Italy became the first G7 country to sign with China the Memorandum of Understanding on the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and the Maritime Silk Road (MSR), despite protests from the US and the EU. However, five years later, Italy became the first country to decide not to extend the Memorandum, which de facto means the country’s withdrawal from the Belt and Road initiative. The article provides a detailed analysis of the specifics of Italian-Chinese interaction. Italy is interested in China as a source of investment and a market for its products, but the Memorandum has not brought the desired results, and Italy’s trade deficit is increasing. However, the main reasons for the termination of the Memorandum are: firstly, the change in the rhetoric of the US and the EU towards China; secondly, the desire of Prime Minister J. Meloni, given the ambiguity of her political figure, to «normalize» her position and status. An important factor is also the risk of Italy’s strategic dependence on China, since China has a dominant position in the production of technologies critical to the green transition of the EU and is also a supplier of critical raw materials to the EU countries. Italy is currently in the process of rethinking its relationship with China. At the same time, it does not intend to downgrade the level of interaction – both the Chinese and Italian sides confirm their interest in continuing the course of strategic partnership.
Italy, «middle power», Belt and Road initiative, Italian foreign policy, cooperation with China, foreign policy archetype, strategic partnership.
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