When Xi Jinping visits Italy next week, Rome’s hopes of joining China’s global trade and infrastructure plan will rest heavily on the shoulders of a powerful Sinophile who has ignored international warnings not to put too much trust in China. Michele Geraci, the undersecretary of state for economic development in Italy’s far-right coalition government, has been tasked by Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to reach a memorandum of understanding with Beijing – for Italy to take part in the “Belt and Road Initiative” – during Xi’s March 22-24 visit.
