Guido Crosetto, the defense minister for Italy, referred to his nation’s decision to participate in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as “wicked.” He said in an interview with the daily Corriere della Sera that the current Italian Government is debating whether to continue taking part in the program. He noted that the BRI initiative, which Italy committed to under its previous administration, did little to increase the country’s exports.
China’s president Xi Jinping announced the BRI international infrastructure investment initiative in 2013 with the goal of rebuilding the Silk Road, which connected Asia with Africa and Europe. Billions of dollars have been spent in infrastructure projects for the project, including the building of ports from Sri Lanka to West Africa, highways from Papua New Guinea to Kenya, and telecom and power facilities throughout Latin America and Southeast Asia.