Beijing/New Delhi, Sep 10 (PTI) Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday met his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the G20 summit and discussed bilateral ties amid Italy’s plan to withdraw from China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as the project “did not bring the results expected”.
Deputing for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in New Delhi, Li who is ranked number two leader in the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) hierarchy made a case for Meloni to provide a “fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment” for Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in the European country, Chinese official media reported.
The Li-Meloni meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit assumed significance as the Italian government has openly expressed its desire to quit BRI asserting that Beijing’s famed multibillion-dollar infrastructure initiative has not brought any benefits for Rome.
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