Italy and China signed a three-year economic cooperation deal on Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, following talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

Meloni said her first visit to Beijing as Italian leader was a "demonstration of the will to begin a new phase, to relaunch our bilateral cooperation."

The leader of the right-wing populist Brothers of Italy party also spoke of wanting to see trade relations with China become "fairer," the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

"Chinese investment in Italy accounts for about a third of Italian investment in China," she said, adding that she would like to see this gap narrow.

Meloni later said the 3-year deal with China includes cooperation on strategic sectors such as electric vehicles and renewable energy.

Li said the two nations had agreed on "mutually beneficial cooperation" in the fields of "shipbuilding, aerospace, new energy, artificial intelligence," in a statement released by his office.

China lost face over Italy's BRI pullout

Rome is looking to rebuild ties with Beijing amid growing fears of a trade war between Europe and China and after Italy pulled out of China's massive infrastructure program, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in December.

The BRI aims to smooth trade ties between China and the rest of the world, through road, rail and sea links, as well as energy and digital infrastructure.

Italy was the only G7 nation to sign up to the BRI, in 2019, but was pressured by Washington and Brussels to withdraw due to concerns over the rising threats from the world's second-largest economy.

Chinese state media said Meloni's trip was aimed at "clarifying some misunderstandings" over Italy's withdrawal from the BRI.

In 2023, Italy's bilateral trade with China was worth €66.8 billion ($80 billion), heavily tilted in Beijing's favor.

What else is Meloni doing in Beijing?

The Italian leader attended an Italy-China business forum later Sunday.

Meloni noted how renewables and electromobility were "sectors where China has already been operating on the technological frontier for some time ... and is sharing the new frontiers of knowledge with partners."

Italian tire maker Pirelli, energy group ENI, defense group Leonardo, wine producers and several Italian luxury fashion groups, such as Dolce & Gabbana, took part in the forum.

Li also spoke at the business forum, pledging to open Chinese markets further and create a transparent business environment so that foreign companies get the same treatment as Chinese ones.

"At the same time, we hope the Italian side will work with China to provide a more fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies doing business in Italy," he said.

In May, the Italian–American automaker Stellantis, which owns Fiat, signed a joint venture with Leapmotor, a Chinese electric car startup, and Rome is keen to attract other Chinese automakers to the country.

At the same time, Rome supports the European Union's new provisional tariffs of up to 37.6% on Chinese automakers, who Brussels accuses of dumping cheap electric vehicles on the continent.

Beijing has retaliated by launching probes into the trade practices of European brandy and pork and could also target dairy products and large-engined petrol cars made by European firms.

The two sides are holding talks to try to resolve the issue by a deadline set for early November.

Meloni is also due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for talks on Monday.

mm/wd (AP, dpa, Reuters)