Italy Says Its Relations With US Far More Important Than With China

Italy Says Its Relations With US Far More Important Than With China
Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio speaks during a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Fiera Roma in Rome, Italy, on June 28, 2021. Andrew Harnik/Pool via Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

ROME—Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Monday that Rome’s relations with the United States are much more important than its ties with China.

The United States has expressed concern over Italy’s links to China, particularly after a previous Italian government signed up to Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure drive in 2019.

“We are a strong trade partner with China, we have a historic relationship, but it is absolutely not comparable, and it does not interfere with, the alliance of values we have with the United States,” Di Maio said at a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.