Mattarella in China, Xi Jinping: “The president is my good friend”

BEIJING – Red carpets. Children jumping. Very young soldiers with bright blue uniforms. Sergio Mattarella e Xi Jinping they advance in pairs into the Hall of the People. Then Mattarella says “Xié xié” to the leader of the world’s second largest economy: “Thank you”. Nothing will be the same after Trump-Musk. Is there a risk of a cold war?

The president, on a state visit until Tuesday, came here to ask Xi, who dreams of a new world order with Russia and Brazil that challenges the decadent and tired West, to avoid the temptation of “anachronistic returns to a world of opposing blocs”. No “fences”, but “talking even with those who don’t think like you, no matter how distant or different”. A new relations agenda suddenly imposes itself.

“Mattarella is a good friend of mine, we write to each other, we call each other,” Xi surprisingly declares. And on one of the issues most dear to our economy – the duties imposed on our exports – he agrees on the need to achieve a freer world market, without barriers. China exports to Italy for 50 billion, Italy for 19. Made in China, as everyone knows, triumphs. European tariffs on Chinese automotive (here in Beijing the cars are almost all electric) have further soured relations. “I told the Chinese Foreign Minister that an agreement must be found and that there is reciprocity: the too low prices of cars produced abroad risk not making the European product competitive,” said the Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

Meanwhile, agreements and memorandums have been signed as part of their participation in the Italy-China Cultural Forum. Relations between the two countries restart, after the stop to the Silk Road. There is also the mayor of Verona, Damiano Tommasitwinned with Hangzhou. The reporters ask him about Roma’s crisis.

Mattarella and Xi are sitting opposite each other. They couldn’t be more different. Xi is with Putin. Mattarella with Ukraine. Xi blames the Russian invasion of Ukraine on NATO. Mattarella, a convinced Atlanticist, is a supporter of multilateralism. On democracy and human rights they are like nadir and zenith, yet there is a current of personal sympathy running between them. It happens between leaders, they explain at the Quirinale. Xi loves Italy very much. In 2019 he visited Sicily. Mattarella publicly thanks him for this episode on his island. A few days before the pandemic broke out here too, Mattarella went to an elementary school in the Esquiline, populated by Chinese pupils, to express solidarity against those who attacked Beijing “for the Chinese virus”. Xi appreciated it.

We focus on the age-old culture that unites us. After all, China is close. At the World Art Museum, which hosts the exhibition on Marco Polo, the Venetian traveler very popular among the Chinese and Matteo Ricci are the only Italians present on the museum’s imposing circular bas-relief. The president visited her yesterday morning, together with his daughter Laura. “Friendship is more useful to the world than riches,” he said in the afternoon, quoting Ricci.

In short, Mattarella presented himself with this message: you are strong, we recognize your power, use “dialogue to resolve differences in a world in which there are changes not seen in a century”. Beijing can play a leading role in the war in Ukraine. However, his peace plan, presented with Brazil a year ago, is a dead letter. Also because it clashes with the “just peace” that Mattarella has often spoken about. “And multilateralism prohibits the use – or even the threat – of force in relations between states.”