Italy says China trade does not interfere in Western ties

"Italy is a strong trading partner of China, we have historical relations," Di Maio said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Rome.

But Di Maio said these relations were "absolutely not comparable nor interfere with the alliance of values we have with the United States, in NATO and the European Union".

Two years ago, in a government in which Di Maio was deputy prime minister, Italy became the first G7 country to sign up to China's Belt and Road infrastructure and trade initiative, sparking concern in Brussels and Washington.

But new Prime Minister Mario Draghi has in recent weeks emphasised the place of the eurozone's third-largest economy at the heart of the European family and the NATO military alliance.

Blinken -- on a visit to Germany, France and Italy just days after President Joe Biden's own weeklong tour of Europe -- said there was evidence of an "increasing convergence of views of us, the United States, and our European partners and allies about China".

"The common denominator is approaching these challenges -- whether it's adversarial or it's competitive or it's cooperative -- together, and increasingly that's exactly what you're seeing," he told reporters.

The two men were speaking after a meeting in Rome of an 83-member coalition on defeating the Islamic State group, and ahead of a summit of G20 foreign ministers in Matera in southern Italy on Tuesday.