One belt, multiple roads: Moscow and Rome in China's geo-economic calculations

P. 113–130.

Denisov I., Maslova, E.

In the analysis of the Belt and Road Initiative’s (BRI) implementation, attention is mainly focused on Chinese interests, while Beijing’s policy is seen as internally coherent and inflexible. This approach does not allow us to see the full picture of China’s interaction with different actors. The European Union (EU) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) with Russia at the core are two important regional projects with which China needs to harmonize its interests. In May 2015, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping agreed to coordinate activities of the two countries in the sphere of Eurasian integration. In 2019, Italy became the first G7 state and the first of the EU-founding countries to join the BRI. The center of our analysis is two fundamental documents that Russia and Italy signed with China on Belt and Road Initiative. The idea of the chapter is to show how, in the framework of BRI, China implements adaptive approaches and negotiating tactics in dealing with diverse partners (e.g., Italy – EU member and Russia – EAEU member), and what interests Russia and Italy pursue while formulating their positions on Chinese initiative. Our case study reveals the flexibility of BRI that can produce different cooperation models in various political contexts.

Keywords: China, Italy-China relations

In book

China-EU Relations in a New Era of Global Transformation

Routledge, 2021.