On Tuesday, the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi met with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio in Rome (read Formiche.net’s reporting on it over here). In the following presser, Mr Di Maio stressed that all the talks regarding economic relations were only possible within the framework of the European Union and the Atlantic Alliance (NATO).

The Italian minister also stressed that Italy would be closely monitoring the situation in Hong Kong, where the security law recently imposed by Beijing is starting to erode the high degree of autonomy and democracy that was previously enjoyed by Hongkongers.

This was one of the most assertive stances on China ever to be expressed by Mr Di Maio. Mr Yi took the remarks on Italy’s geopolitical fealty in stride but reacted coldly to those on Hong Kong. The diplomat stressed that the debate on Hong Kong had been conducted under the principle of “non-interference”, reinforcing Beijing’s line that that particular matter pertains exclusively to China (thus dismissing the international condemnation around the crackdown on human rights).

The meeting happened at a time where Italy is slowly drifting away from China on a series of crucial dossiers over which Beijing is locked into a confrontation with the US. The Five Stars’ governing partners, the Democrats, Defense minister Lorenzo Guerini and European Affairs minister Enzo Amendola being the frontrunners, have usually been the Atlanticist counterbalance within the parliamentary majority, and they sought to push their line even as the meeting was underway.

That same day, senior Democrat MP Enrico Borghi sought to pivot the debate towards cybersecurity by penning an official statement asking Mr Di Maio to consider national security over commercial interests.

Mr Borghi, who is also a member of the parliamentary security committee (COPASIR), underscored the need to focus on the 5G dossier, an area where Italy is being increasingly pressured by the US to limit the reach of Chinese influence.

COPASIR had been highlighting the risk associated with installing Chinese-built 5G components in Italy’s budding next-gen network, as the Chinese firms who craft and maintain them must comply to their government’s request for any kind of sensitive data.

“On these bases, the exfiltration of data has become mandatory under Chinese law for the companies and Chinese citizens who respond to the People Republic of China’s legal system,” wrote Mr Borghi, arguing that China, though being an important commercial partner, is not among Italy’s political and military alliances – and that Italy’s strategic choices should reflect as much.

The Democrat hoped that Mr Di Maio would remember COPASIR’s numerous security warnings when bringing up the matter of 5G during his talks. In doing so, he was reinforcing the argument that when it comes to strategic sectors of national interest – such as 5G – the Atlantic interest in common defence must be upheld against any foreign risk.

Alberto Pagani, who is also a Democrat MP as well as a member of the Commission on Defence, penned a three-pronged argument in support of his party’s firm Atlanticist stance – the first prong being the non-negotiable nature of the “cultural, political and ethical foundation” of Western countries, based on democracy, individual freedom and rule of law.

“The relationship that we want to foster, based on friendship and economic exchange between China and Italy, cannot hide the fact that the suppression of individual freedoms and disrespect of human rights represents the first great unresolved problem,” wrote the MP in reference to China’s crackdown on Hong Kong.

This is not only an ethical matter, because the principles of transparency, openness and freedom upheld by the West are also a key component of its economy – whereas the Chinese economy mirrors the Chinese society, argued the Democrat.

When it comes to bilateral relations, the unbalance becomes evident. For instance, Chinese capitals may be freely invested in Western markets, even in critical industries such as telecoms. Meanwhile, foreign investors are barred from owning a majority stake in a Chinese company, and tenets of the Western free market – auditing, copyright, impartial judiciary and transparency – are not enforced to an equal level.

This leads to the third problem, according to Mr Pagani. Take 5G: the Chinese technology being offered is certainly competitive, both because of its sophistication and its pricing, and thus represent a bargain for Italian telco companies. However, that technology is so competitive because the Chinese State heavily invests in it, as opposed to Western States, which are barred from offering subsidies to all national enterprises because of competition laws.

Given the unfair competitive advantage combined to the security risks, “there is no economic convenience that may justify the decision to take this risk, and the Italian government cannot have the country taking that risk,” wrote Mr Pagani.

The politician concluded by commenting that addressing these crucial concerns didn’t mean compromising the Italian diplomatic relations with China, but rather safeguarding Italy’s national interest. “This is the duty of politics. […] Maintaining these relations alive and opening up the confrontation, as well as collaboration, without coarse and foolish ideological taboos, is just and useful – but we have to do this with a straight back.”