Italy’s 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 as the time and whether the concerns around it have materialized.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of China’s Belt and Road Initiative — a platform for global cooperation, in which Beijing is actively creating and developing sea and land routes to Asia, Africa and Europe. The starting point of this grandiose project was the city of Xi’an, from which the ancient Silk Road originated.