Italy has withdrawn from China's Belt and Road Initiative, also known as the "New Silk Road," a scheme that involves huge investments in infrastructure around the world. As a result, Italy became the first country to withdraw from the project, after becoming the first and only G7 country to join it in 2019. It has been reported that the Chinese diplomatic representatives were presented with a "note verbale" by the government. This document, which serves as an official correspondence between embassies, formally terminates the agreement. The document was given a few days ago, but the news was not made public until Wednesday: neither the Italian nor Chinese governments have issued official statements or talked publicly about the matter. The administration anticipated that it would not be required to formally withdraw membership in the "Silk Road," but that simply failing to renew the agreement, which must be reconfirmed every four years, would suffice. However, the Chinese government has insisted on a formal termination, as required by the agreement, according to Corriere della Sera. The cancellation, on the other hand, happened discreetly and without any fanfare. The "Belt and Road Initiative" is a massive infrastructure project unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 that comprises hundreds of billions of dollars in investments across multiple countries. Almost all Western nations, beginning with the United States, have condemned the initiative as an attempt by China to expand its economic and political might in the world.
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