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00:00REGULATIONS. ANNA: I AM PLEASED TO SAY, THE MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS JOINING US. HE IS THE OFFICIAL WHO HAS BEEN WORKING TO ESTABLISH GLOBAL LINKS WITH CHINA. CAN I ASK YOU, THE U.S. IS CONCERNED ABOUT THIS, DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHY THE U.S. IS CONCERNED? > > YES, I UNDERSTAND WHY THEY ARE CONCERNED. I ALSO UNDERSTAND WHY SOME OF OUR YEAR THE AND CARTONS -- EUROPEAN PARTNERS ARE CONCERNED. WE HAVE A CONSTANT DIALOGUE WITH ALL OF THEM. THE FACT IS THAT ALREADY, ALMOST HALF OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAVE SIGNED THE MOU. ITALY IS NOT THE FIRST. ALL OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAVE SIGNED AND PUT MONEY INTO THE FINANCING ARM OF THE BELT AND ROAD. WE ARE THE FIRST G7 COUNTRY , AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE ARE LESS LIKELY TO FALL INTO PROBLEMS SUCH AS THE DEBT TRAP OR CHINESE OVERINVESTMENT. WE ARE LARGE ENOUGH TO SHOULDER ANY POTENTIAL HOT MONEY COMING IN. WE NEED A LITTLE BIT OF INVESTMENT. ANNA: YES, INDEED. IT WAS A VERY LARGE BOND MARKET. ARE YOU HOPING THE CHINESE WILL BUY ITALIAN BONDS AS PART OF THE BELLS AND ROAD AGREEMENT? -- BELT AND ROAD AGREEMENT? > > NOT NECESSARILY. THE ITALIAN BOND MARKET IS ONE OF THE MOST LIQUID IN THE WORLD. THE SECONDARY MARKET IS OPEN IS ANY COUNTRY WISHES TO PURCHASE THE ITALIAN BTP, BUT THAT IS NOT A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP GOVERNMENT TO GOVERNMENT. TAYLOR: THE U.S. HAS NOT BEEN QUIET ABOUT THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT CHINESE TELECOMS, MAINLY HUAWEI. DOES ITALY PLAN TO BAN HUAWEI, OR WHAT SCRUTINY WHERE THE -- WILL THERE BE IF THEY COME INTO ITALY? > > LET ME CLARIFY. THE MOU WE WILL SIGN THIS WEEKEND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH 5G. THERE ARE NO NAMES OF SPECIFIC COMPANIES SAID THE NAME HUAWEI IS NOT MENTIONED. NEITHER IS MENTIONED ANY OF THE ITALIAN OR CHINESE COMPANY NAMES. THIS IS JUST A FRAMEWORK THAT ESTABLISHES HOW ITALY AND CHINA WOULD WISH TO COOPERATE INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE ALONG THE SILK ROAD. A PROJECT IN ASIA AND AFRICA, THERE ' S WILL BE NEEDED. AS A TECHNICAL ECONOMY, THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE IS AT THE BASIS OF EVERY COUNTRY ' S ECONOMIC SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. MANY OF THE COUNTRIES ALONG THE SILK ROAD LACK INFRASTRUCTURE. YOU MENTIONED OTHER PARTNERS CONCERNS, WE ARE HAPPY TO TAKE ON BOARD ANY SUGGESTIONS. WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY ALTERNATIVE TO THIS SILK ROAD PROJECT. IF THERE WAS ANY, WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO PARTICIPATE. I THINK ITALY LEADING THE REMAINING COUNTRIES ALONG SILK ROAD WILL ENTICE OTHER COUNTRIES TO JOIN AND MAYBE FORM A EUROPEAN STRATUS -- STRATEGY, VIS-A-VIS OTHER COUNTRIES ALONG THE SILK ROAD. TAYLOR: MATTEO SALVINI HAS BEEN OUTSPOKEN ABOUT TRYING TO LIMIT AGREEMENTS AS CHINA COME IN. ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT CHINA TRYING TO BUY INFLUENCE? YOU SAY YOU CAN PREVENT AGAINST HOT MONEY. HOW DO YOU SAY THAT IS CLEAR? > > OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, CHINA HAS A TOTAL ACCUMULATED STOCK OF 22 BILLION IN THE U.K. -- STOCK OF 22 BILLION. IN THE U K, THIS IS 80. IF WE LOOK AT THE MAP OF EUROPEAN PORTS, CHINA OWNS GREECE, MAINTAINING MARSEILLE, BILL BELL, -- BILB AO, ISTANBUL, GIBRALTAR, THE SILK ROAD IS ALREADY IN EUROPE. THE TRAIN TO CHINA LEAVES FROM GERMANY AND THESE MOU ' S BRING ALL THAT HAS BEEN SO FAR, ALL THE CHINESE INVESTMENT IN OTHER COUNTRIES AND NOW THAT THEY COMPLAIN ITALY WANTS TO JOIN THIS INITIATIVE. WE HAVE ONE OF THE STRONGEST POWER MECHANISMS THAT IS MANAGED BY THE OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, ONE OF THE STRONGEST IN EUROPE, THAT EVENTS PREDATORY M & A -- PREVENTS PREDATORY M & A FROM COMING INTO ITALY. I AM FOR ALLOWING GREEN FIELD OF

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Geraci Says Italy Understands U.S., EU Concerns on China

Michele Geraci, undersecretary in Italy’s Economic Development Ministry, discusses plans to sign a preliminary agreement with China which would see Italy open its ports as a European point of entry for China's “Belt and Road” initiative. Geraci also comments on Italy's bond market and Europe's 5G wireless network infrastructure in an interview on "Bloomberg Surveillance." (Source: Bloomberg)

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