Italy's participation in Xi's project is not only an economic win for Beijing, but potentially creates a wedge for use against the wider EU on key issues in the future, said Lucrezia Poggetti, a research associate at the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS).
"China is very keen to deal with EU nations separately, rather than as a bloc," she said. "In bilateral relations China has the upper hand because of its huge economic power compared to individual European countries.