It was this year’s aborted takeover of an obscure Italian company with little more than 50 employees that illustrated just how far one of China’s biggest diplomatic successes in Europe had unravelled.
今年，中资收购一家不为人所知、只有50多名雇员的意大利公司的交易受阻，突显中国在欧洲取得的最大外交成功之一瓦解的程度。
In 2019, Rome stunned its US and European allies when Italy’s then populist coalition government became the first G7 member to sign up to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Signed during a state visit by Chinese president Xi Jinping, the agreement propelled Italy to the frontline of Beijing’s battle for global power and influence.
2019年，罗马方面做出震惊美国和欧洲盟友的举动，当时意大利的民粹主义联合政府成为第一个加入中国“一带一路”倡议(Belt and Road Initiative)的七国集团(G7)成员。在中国国家主席习近平进行国事访问期间签署的这份协议，将意大利推到北京方面争夺全球力量和影响力的前线。
But then, two years later, Italy’s newly appointed prime minister Mario Draghi quietly signed a decree that symbolically ended China’s Italian courtship and contained Beijing’s beachhead in western Europe.
但两年后，意大利新任命的总理马里奥•德拉吉(Mario Draghi)悄悄签署一项法令，以具有象征意义的方式结束了中国对意大利的追求，并遏制住了北京方面在西欧的滩头堡。
