Italian FM dismisses doubts on China's motivation behind COVID-19 aid

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio (L) and Chinese Ambassador to Italy Li Junhua attend a press conference in Rome, March 13, 2020, to present an aid team of Chinese doctors that came to Italy to help fight the COVID-19. /AP

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on Tuesday defended Italy's economic relations with China and dismissed doubts about China's motivation behind its aid to the coronavirus-hit European country.

When asked whether the pandemic will help China acquire Italy in its sphere of influence, Di Maio said: "There are no geopolitical risks, there are only friendly relations."

"I'm smiling at those who were protesting that they opened the way to the Silk Road," he said in an interview with Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Italy needs 100 million masks per month and 10 thousand ventilators, according to projections on the evolution of the coronavirus. The country has signed a contract with China to obtain 20 million masks per week, for the first batch of 100 million, the minister said.

"The contract is expandable… In the meantime, 3 million masks and 200 ventilators will be donated from China," he added.

How China contributes to global COVID-19 control

Di Maio said Italy was right to send 40,000 masks to China as soon as the epidemic broke out in Wuhan.

"We have invested in friendship with China and Russia, and we have done well given the help they are giving us. Diplomacy saves lives."

A Chinese team of experts pose for a photograph with head of the Italian Red Cross Francesco Rocca after arriving at Rome's Fiumicino airport on a chartered plane with a consignment of medical supplies including respirators and masks, to help Italy cope with a coronavirus outbreak, in Rome, Italy, March 12, 2020. /Reuters

On Wednesday, China sent a third team of health experts to Italy to help the country fight the outbreak.

These 14 experts specialize in areas including the respiratory system, intensive care, infectious disease, hospital infection control, traditional Chinese medicine and nursing. They will be working in the Tuscany region of Italy.

The aircraft also carried eight tons of medical supplies donated by the province, including 30 ventilators, 20 sets of medical monitors, 3,000 protective suits, 300,000 medical masks, 20,000 N95 masks and 3,000 face shields.

In recent weeks, China has sent two medical groups with a total of 22 people along with more than 20 tons of medical supplies to support Italy.

Di Maio also hailed Italy's decision to join the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The move has strengthened friendship between the two countries and enhanced Italy's capability to save lives, he said.

China and Italy signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation within the framework of the BRI a year ago, making Italy the first G7 nation to officially join the initiative.

The virus has claimed 6,820 lives as of Tuesday evening in Italy, which has lost more lives than any other country to the pandemic. The total number of the infections recorded at 69,176, the largest number outside China.