BEIJING, July 29, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was expected to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday, after pledging to "relaunch" ties strained by her country's departure from Beijing's vast Belt and Road Initiative late last year.

Meloni arrived in Beijing on Saturday on her first visit to China since she took office nearly two years ago.

Meeting her counterpart Li Qiang Sunday, she said the visit would "relaunch our bilateral cooperation".

The pair then signed a joint Italy-China action plan that emphasised the importance of "ensuring that commercial relationships are balanced and mutually beneficial".

According to the document, that meant "companies can operate on equal terms in a spirit of fair competition and free trade".

During the talks, Li said Beijing was keen to push relations with Italy in a "more mature and stable direction", according to a readout by Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

Meloni is expected to meet with President Xi later on Monday, according to Italian media.

Her administration withdrew from China's major Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in December, having been the only G7 nation to sign up.

Before taking office, Meloni said joining the initiative -- a central pillar of Xi's bid to expand China's clout overseas -- had been a "mistake".

Italy's non-binding memorandum of understanding with China upon joining the BRI had contained broad undertakings for cooperation in logistics, infrastructure, finance and the environment.

But details were scarce and the lack of transparency fuelled distrust among Italy's allies.

Meloni's administration has since sought to mend ties with China, Italy's second-largest non-EU trading partner after the United States.

Speaking alongside Li at an Italy-China Business forum Sunday, Meloni said she wanted to ensure "our commercial relations are increasingly fair and advantageous for everyone".