Italys officially joining the China-led Belt and Road Initiative sparked a fierce debate. By analysing five fields of cooperation, the volume sheds light on whether the bilateral agreement has brought about an intensification of bilateral collaboration as wished by the Italian government at the time and whether the concerns around it have materialised. The contributions will show that potential risks coexist alongside unsubstantiated ones.

Beatrice Gallelli is an Assistant Professor at Ca' Foscari University in Venice and Research Fellow at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). Her research interests include Chinese political discourse and strategies of governance in contemporary China Francesca Ghiretti is an analyst at MERICS and a Visiting Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Affairs. Her interest includes EU-China relations, economic security and connectivity strategies