A piece of breaking news appeared on various popular Chinese-language websites on June 7 claiming that the Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi had admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic had originated in Italy in a virtual interview by Radiotelevi-sione Italiana (RAI). The Chinese reports claimed that Italy had mistaken COVID outbreaks in Milan, Genoa, and Venice in the summer of 2019 for influenza.
This soon was exposed as fake news. The Italian embassy in Beijing issued a statement that afternoon, saying that “The Italian Embassy strongly emphasizes that the content of the article concerning the Prime Minister’s remarks is a complete lie and that the information has no basis whatsoever.”
This happened shortly after Italy’s recent veto of Beijing’s attempted takeover of LPE, a Milan-based semiconductor manufacturer, on March 31.
There is no way of knowing if the fake COVID-19 origins report was Beijing’s retaliation for the aborted deal but it certainly didn’t ease tensions between the two countries.
Expert: 5 Reasons Italy Is Cooling Its Relationship With China
Italy’s blocking of the Chinese acquisition was an abrupt change in course for the European nation that had been growing a close relationship with the Chinese regime in Beijing.
In 2019, Italy under the leadership of former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, became the first G7 country to embrace China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), against the advice of the United States and other G7 members.
In 2020 when the pandemic hit, Italy was the most impacted country in Europe. China donated 31 tons of personal protective equipment and virus testing kits to Italy in March 2020, as well as a dozen medical experts to support the health response.
Italy had also been one of the most pro-China EU members in recent decades. Between 2000 and 2019, Italy received 15.9 billion euros ($19.25 billion) in Chinese investments, making it Europe’s third biggest beneficiary. Recent financial troubles saw numerous China-based companies acquire a number of Italian businesses. As of 2020, more than 400 Chinese groups held stakes in 760 Italian companies across “highly profitable or strategic sectors.”
One of the best-known acquisitions was that of the AC Milan football club for 740 million euros ($788 million), previously owned by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
By Pingping Yu
