China values ties with Italy, Xi tells Meloni

TOKYO -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met visiting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday and reassured her that Beijing values its ties with the third-largest economy in the European Union, state media said.

Meloni is in Beijing to shore up relations that were strained after her government pulled out of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. Xi told the prime minister during their meeting that changes in global affairs have not affected China's willingness to develop ties with Italy, state media said.