#13. Enrico Fardella: on Italy in the BRI, and China-Mediterranean relations

SCOLAR Podcast

Welcome to the episode #13 of the "SCOLAR on the Belt & Road", where we diverge a bit from Asia and turn to look at a European country, whose deepening relations with China have recently made it the first G7 country to join the Belt and Road Initiative. We are talking, of course, about Italy. Joining us in the studio is Enrico Fardella, Tenured Associate Professor at the History Department of Peking University (PKU) and Director of PKU’s Center for Mediterranean Area Studies, who recently was part of the deleation welcoming Xi Jinping during his historic visit in Italy. Enrico works jointly with TOChina Hub as director of the ChinaMed Project and Area Director of the ChinaMed Business Program. He is Global Fellow of Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C., Research Scholar at the Machiavelli Center for Cold War Studies, member of the Academic Committee at Pangoal Institution in Beijing and Fellow of the Science & Technology China Program of the European Commission. Enrico was also the first foreign person to join the post-doc programme at Peking University. Is the Italian government's opening to China something new? How long back in history do the bilateral relations between Italy and the PRC stretch? What is Italy looking for in the BRI – and what are China's interests in Italy and the wider Mediterranean region? On how much Italy aligns itself with the Eurasian dream of the Belt & Road and on the journey of its "inter-civilisational dialogue" with China hear from our guest Enrico and our co-host, Olim Alimov. Enjoy!