Italy’s reported withdrawal plan may set a precedence for a constructive exit from China’s global trade and infrastructure initiative, setting the stage for future exits. Italy remains the only Group of 7 industrialized countries that is a signatory of Beijing’s signature Belt and Road Initiative, a centerpiece of President Xi Jinping’s foreign policy program that was launched a decade ago. At a time of shifting geopolitical alignments that’s fragmenting the world’s economy, Rome is coming under pressure to recast its relationship with Beijing to placate its western allies as Italy assumes the rotating presidency of ... (full story)