Italy just slammed China’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, saying it was an ‘atrocious’ decision to join and that it’s barely benefited from the deal

• Italy is having second thoughts about joining China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
• Its defense minister just slammed the deal for being “improvised and atrocious.”
• Italy was the largest economy to sign the pact in 2019 and is currently weighing how to exit without damaging relations.

Guido Crosetto, Italy’s defense minister, just slammed his country’s decision to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, describing it as “improvised and atrocious.”

The country’s now mulling a diplomatic exit by the end of 2023.