No. of Recommendations: 6
No you said it wasn't gunboat diplomacy. It most assuredly is.
I think you need to read up more on the Belt and Road and especially on what Italy thought of it.
Here;s the definition:
Gunboat diplomacy is an aggressive, showy kind of foreign policy. When a country employs gunboat diplomacy, it uses its military power to force other nations to do what it wants them to do.
Please show us where China aggressively, and with a showy flair of military power, forced Italy to do anything.
SNIP As it became clear that the BRI would not be an economic panacea, the Italian government began to reassess whether it should continue its membership. For the past year, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has indicated that joining the BRI was a “big mistake” that she intended to correct by withdrawing from the initiative. Meloni cited the lack of benefits that accrued to Italy after joining the BRI, noting that “Italy is the only G7 member that signed up to the accession memorandum to the Silk Road, but it is not the European or Western country with the strongest economic relations and trade flows with China.” Most recently, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto called Italy’s decision to join the BRI an “improvised and atrocious act.” SNIP
"Benefits accrue" sure doesn't sound like "forced".
