Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi will visit Italy and Switzerland from October 7 to 12, according to China’s foreign ministry.
Wang would attend the 12th joint meeting of the China-Italy government committee and the fourth round of the China-Switzerland foreign ministers’ strategic dialogue, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
His trip follows the extension of an olive branch by Rome to state-backed Chinese group Sinochem International Corp, the main shareholder in Italian tyremaker Pirelli.
Pirelli said last Monday that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office had dismissed an administrative case involving Sinochem, after finding no evidence that either the Chinese company or its appointees had compromised management independence. The investigation involved a unit of Sinochem.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with Chinese President Xi Jinping during her visit to Beijing in July 2024. Photo: Xinhua
The decision lowers the odds that Italy would sanction Sinochem under the country’s so-called “golden power” law.