Chinese rebus. Meloni knows that he has to get out of the Silk Road. But not how to do it

The prime minister would like to manage the exit strategy in the shadows, but the international calendar, and her most precious allies, seem to require clarity. The postponement of the trip to Washington, fears for the G7, Biden’s firmness. And the risk of commercial retaliation from Beijing. Confindustria grumbles

The problem is not if. In Palazzo Chigi, despite some concealment of some never suppressed uncertainty, everyone is convinced that it will be done: the Silk Road memorandum must be cancelled. If anything, the problem lies in how and when, in the ways and times to choose, and it is not an easy choice to interrupt the privileged collaboration between Italy and China. If it depended on Giorgia Meloni, the thing would be done on the sly. A statement, perhaps. Nothing more. Except that the international agenda of the prime minister herself seems destined to require her to come out in a more explicit and resolute way than expected. Because on the other hand, with Beijing’s less and less equidistant centrality in Ukrainian affairs, practicing ambiguity would risk being considered unreliable with the most precious ally, namely Joe Biden.