BRI and China's Scientific Power

What are the elements and the impact of the inclusion of scientific cooperation within the 2019 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in support of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) between Italy and China? According to Lorenzo Mariani (Researcher in the field of Asian studies at IAI) scientific cooperation has become a pillar of the BRI, China’s connectivity project whose goal is to foster land and maritime trade routes between East Asia and Europe. Like many other developed countries, Italy has played a role in contributing to China’s growth as a scientific and technological power.