Italian President Mattarella meets Chinese leader Xi in Beijing amid complex ties

BEIJING (AP) — Italian President Sergio Mattarella met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping Friday on an official visit to China that came as Russia’s full-on invasion of Ukraine pitted Rome's NATO allies against Beijing's support for Moscow.

The two exchanged greetings following a ceremony with full military honors at the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing.

In his opening remarks, Xi referred to the 700th anniversary of Italian adventurer and trader Marco Polo's journey to China that encouraged cultural, economic and religious links between Europe and East Asia.

Italy is heavily reliant on foreign trade such as luxury products that have a large market in China. It is also a member of NATO, which China has blamed for provoking the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Beijing has provided Moscow with assistance by purchasing its energy exports while selling it technology that can be used in drones and other armaments.

Any differences on political issues were not raised in front of the media and the two leaders later oversaw the signing of a series of agreements on matters from culture to technology and trade.

Italy has withdrawn from Xi's signature global Belt and Road Initiative that seeks to deepen China's relations with countries in Africa, Asia, Latin American and the Middle East through infrastructure investments.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni had declined to renew the agreement, but nevertheless visited China in July.

Italy became the first G7 country to sign on to the initiative in 2019, when the populist, anti-establishment Five Star Movement party-led government promoted it as a way of increasing trade with China while getting investments in major infrastructure projects. But neither appeared, and investments in Italian ports that were trumpeted in newspaper headlines were never achieved.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP)

Italian President Sergio Mattarella attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, not pictured, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP)

Italian President Sergio Mattarella attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, second from left, attends a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, fourth from right, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP)

Italian President Sergio Mattarella speaks before a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Italian President Sergio Mattarella arrive for a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Italian President Sergio Mattarella review the honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Italian President Sergio Mattarella shake hands at a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Italian President Sergio Mattarella shake hands at a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)