Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off a whistlestop European tour in Rome on Friday amid growing Western unease over Italy joining the ever-expanding Asian giant's new Silk Road project.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is to sign a memorandum of understanding with Xi on Saturday for Italy to join the $1 trillion Belt and Road Initiative, the first G7 member to do so, despite apparent divisions within the ruling coalition.

Italy on Friday rolled out the red carpet for Xi, who met his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella amid great pomp, and was due to head to parliament in the afternoon.

Around 1,000 extra police have been deployed around Rome for the state visit before Xi heads to Palermo, where his singer wife Peng Liyuan reportedly wants to see the Teatro Massimo opera house.

In what some perceived as a snub, Italy's far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said he would not attend Saturday's state dinner for Xi at Mattarella's Quirinal Palace.

Salvini has said Italy would be "no-one's colony" and urged caution about using telecom giant Huawei's next generation 5G mobile technology, while coalition partner Luigi Di Maio is keener for Chinese partnerships.

The United States has warned European allies that Huawei could use its 5G technology as a "backdoor" for spying, while China has lashed out at "immoral" attacks.

NATO member Italy's plan to join China's ambitious maritime, rail and road venture, which critics warn mainly benefits Chinese firms, has raised eyebrows among Western allies and within Italy.

"Today we say 'Italy first' in trade relations, while remaining US allies, in NATO and in the EU," Deputy Prime Minister Di Maio of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement said on the sidelines of a China-Italy business forum on Friday.

Allies' concerns about 5G could be allayed by strengthening the Italian government's so-called 'golden powers' to keep control of strategic industries and infrastructure, Di Maio said.

- 'Trojan horse' -

Debt-ridden Italy is technically in recession and keen to have more business with China.

White House official Garrett Marquis last week tweeted that there was "no need" for Italy to endorse "China's infrastructure vanity project".

Xi's visit comes a week after the European Union released a 10-point plan outlining a shift to more assertive relations with Beijing, warning that China was a "rival" to the bloc as well as its biggest trading partner.

France on Thursday announced that President Emmanuel Macron will hold trade and climate talks on Tuesday with Xi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

As he arrived for the EU summit in Brussels, Macron welcomed what he called Europe's "awakening" to the challenge posed by China.

But his office struck a more conciliatory tone in announcing Tuesday's talks, saying it was an opportunity to explain Europe's strategy and seek "points of convergence between Europe and China".

The meeting comes ahead of a China-EU summit in Brussels next month, as the bloc struggles to forge Europe-wide China policies.

- Strategic ports -

Beijing is particularly interested in investing in Italian ports to help funnel its products into Europe, amid warnings that Rome must avoid the model of the Greek port of Piraeus, which was taken over by Chinese shipping giant Cosco in 2016.

Supporters of the non-binding MoU said that it will lead to China complying with European Union standards, including on the environment and intellectual property, and cannot be compared to debt-inducing deals Beijing has signed with developing countries.

Despite apparent warming ties, Xi is not expected to meet Pope Francis.

The Vatican has diplomatic relations with Taiwan and not Beijing, so the encounter would be unlikely despite an agreement on appointing bishops in China signed last year.

Xi heads to Monaco on Sunday and then on to France to cap his European tour.

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China's Xi to visit Italy, France as Rome joins 'new Silk Road'
Beijing (AFP) March 18, 2019
Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Italy, Monaco and France this week, the foreign ministry said Monday, with Rome expected to join his global trade infrastructure programme despite reservations in other European countries. Beijing has financed infrastructure, maritime, rail and road projects in Asia, Africa and Europe, but critics warn that it mainly benefits Chinese firms while setting up a "debt trap" in more financially vulnerable countries. Xi will pay state visits from Thursday to ... read more