A significant breakthrough in China’s diplomacy this year happened on Saturday, Mar. 23, when Italy and China signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly advance the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to build a trade and infrastructure network to connect Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes. China said it will use this opportunity to strengthen the alignment of the China-proposed Initiative with Italy’s plan to develop its northern ports and the InvestItalia program, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields.
Despite some skepticism, the Belt and Road Initiative has developed into one of the world’s largest cooperation platforms, and the China-established Initiative has become a hot public good. More than 120 countries and 29 international organizations have signed cooperative agreements with China on this symphony of cooperation to date, bringing all sorts of development opportunities to parties of the Initiative, including the construction of Kenya’s first high-speed expressway, the first cross-sea bridge in the Maldives, and the formation of the car industry in Belarus.