The Italian effort to gain the Chinese market: Reconstructing the history of Italy-China trade relations.

Donatella Strangio, Italy-China Trade Relations: A Historical Perspective, Cham: Springer, 2020, 131 pp. (ISBN: 978-3-030-39083-9). The year 2020 marks an important landmark in relations between Italy and China. It’s the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which aligns with the Italy-China Year of Culture and Tourism. An anniversary that comes at a particular moment in Sino-Italian relations, marked by crucial events such as the visit of President Xi Jinping in Rome and Palermo in May 2019. In particular the event that changed the course of relations between Rome and Beijing saw Italy become the first G7 country to officially endorse the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding that stipulates the Italian-Chinese partnership for the Economic and Maritime Silk Road of the 21st century. The signing of the Memorandum put Italy in the spotlight and world public opinion analysed Sino-Italian relations. Donatella Strangio Italy-China Trade Relations: A Historical Perspective is a comprehensive scholarly account of the political penetration and trade relations that Italy established with China, with particular reference to the period from the second half of the 19th century to the birth of the Fascist empire. It is published at a turning point in Sino-Italian relations, analysing the subject from an economic history and international economics perspective.