China buying into Italy?

“Italy confirmed it held talks with Chinese officials amid speculation Rome is looking to persuade Beijing to buy its bonds or invest in its companies, while premier Silvio Berlusconi flew to Brussels Tuesday to discuss the market turmoil.”  While Berlusconi met with the EU President about Italy’s debt, his government was apparently seeking bailout help from China.  The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times both reported that Italian talks took place last week with the chairman of China Investment Corp.

According to a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, “Europe will continue to be one of China’s main investment markets.  We will also expand financial and economic cooperation and investment cooperation with European countries to jointly address the financial crisis.”  China Expert Romeo Orlandi identified the pros and risks of the situation with China:  “In principle it’s a win-win situation: Italy needs money, China has the world’s largest reserves.  But this means that we must sell pieces of Italy to China.”  He added that “the talks may be an indication of how serious Italy’s financial troubles are” (Associated Press, September 13, 2011).

Not only do Italy’s recent actions indicate the depth of the nation’s financial woes, they also highlight the tenuous iron-and-clay nature of the European Union—a union of nations whose unstable merger was prophesied millennia ago (Daniel 2:41-43).  If China becomes a player in Europe, this may hasten the disruption and rearrangement of the current 27-nation EU.  This action could be the beginning of significant developments across Europe.