China hopes Italy’s new far-right government will follow pragmatic policy in bilateral ties

China hopes Italy’s new government will continue to follow a positive and pragmatic policy in bilateral ties, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on September 26, 2022, soon after Giorgia Meloni was reportedly set to become the European country’s first woman prime minister. Days before her far-right Brothers of Italy party scored its election victory, Meloni said in an interview that she hoped for closer cooperation with Taiwan if she were voted to power. Beijing regards the self-ruled island as a renegade province to be reunited with the mainland by force if necessary. Mainland officials have warned against official ties with Taiwan, which most countries do not recognise as a sovereign state.