ROME/BEIJING -- China on March 23 inked a memorandum of understanding to bring Italy on board with its vaunted Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, a major diplomatic win that gives it a firmer foothold within a wary European Union.
The pact signed in Rome by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte includes nearly 30 agreements worth at least 7 billion euros ($7.93 billion), according to Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.
