(22 Mar 2019) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY
ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY
Rome - 22 March 2019
1. Various of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta listening to military band at Piazza Venezia in Rome
2. Xi and Trenta walking
3. Chinese delegation
4. Various of Xi laying wreath
5. Honour guards
6. Various of Xi and Trenta walking down steps
7. Wide of Piazza Venezia
8. Close of Xi
9 . Xi and Trenta walking
10. Xi leaving in car, crowd waving Chinese flags
STORYLINE:
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Rome, during the first day of his official visit to Italy.
Accompanied by Italian Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta, Xi made his way up the stairs to the monument at the centre of Rome's Piazza Venezia.
Earlier on Friday, he met his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella, who greeted Xi in the courtyard of the presidential palace, overseen by the regal guard while a band played the Chinese and Italian anthems.
Xi's visit will last two days, and is aimed at deepening bilateral ties through an ambitious infrastructure program that has raised suspicions among Italy's American and European allies.
On Saturday, the Chinese leader is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding to make Italy the first major democracy to join China's "Belt and Road" initiative, a huge infrastructure project that aims to better connect China to the rest of the world.
Critics have described the initative as a vehicle for Chinese political influence, and some have also questioned the transparency and the potential for corruption with state-directed investment.
European governments declined to sign a joint declaration on the "Belt and Road," arguing it lacked standards on financing and transparency.
US officials are also skeptical of the burgeoning new ties, which they say favor China's interests.
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