Italian PM Meloni on mission to mend ties with Xi ahead of US vote
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is heading to China for the first time since abandoning the Asian nation’s flagship investment pact; Meloni seeks to stabilize ties with Beijing ahead of a volatile US election; Meloni will meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang during her visit; Meloni views Xi as someone who could become an important stakeholder in the Ukraine war if Washington were to pull support; Meloni has sought to pitch herself as a diplomat able to speak to leaders across the ideological spectrum; Meloni will need to balance her goal of strengthening ties with China with the EU’s tougher stance on trade toward Beijing; Meloni is expected to bring up Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict during her talks with Chinese leaders; the EU has toughened its stance toward China, sometimes at the prodding of President Joe Biden; with Donald Trump leading polls in the US election, the EU will need to decide how to align itself between the world’s two largest economies; Meloni’s trip comes after Italy quit Xi’s Belt and Road infrastructure investment initiative; Meloni’s outreach can demonstrate to other European nations the benefits of enhancing cooperation with China; EVs are likely to be on the agenda, as the EU has moved forward to impose provisional tariffs on EVs made in China; China has threatened to retaliate if the EU moves ahead with the levies

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