According to rumors published by Il Messaggero newspaper, Massimo Ambrosetti would be the candidate to replace Mariangela Zappia as Italian ambassador to Washington. Ambrosetti would leave the embassy in Beijing. The dossier is back in the news these days: indeed, Zappia's mandate expires in the first half of June. The decision, barring unforeseen events, should fall on the Vicenza diplomat who has led the mission in the Chinese capital since March 2023, appreciated by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and also liked by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The name was considered a compromise among other sketches that had circulated in recent months. Such as that of Mario Vattani, until 2023 head of mission in Singapore and now commissioner for Italy at the Expo in Osaka, considered close to the world of Fratelli d'Italia and only recently appointed ambassador of rank, who could eventually move to Tokyo (his wife is Japanese). It is a politically delicate choice of a diplomat who will lead the relationship between Italy and the United States in the time of Donald Trump. As the tariff war between the U.S. and the EU looms and the Ukrainian mess tangles, Meloni is poised to fill a key box for Italian diplomacy. Before coming to Beijing, Ambrosetti oversaw international relations for the National Cybersecurity Agency. Such expertise, coupled with knowledge of the Chinese world, can come in handy in Washington as the U.S.-China challenge enters the mainstream.