Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni came to China to boost co-operation with the world's second-largest economy and even out trade ties, she told reporters on Tuesday, during a visit to burnish ties after leaving the latter's Belt and Road scheme.

Meloni, making her first visit to China, which comes after Italy left Chinese President Xi Jinping's flagship initiative last year, said the euro zone's third-largest economy wanted to rebalance ties with Beijing.

"Today, Italian investment in China is about three times as much as Chinese investment in Italy," Meloni said. "We clearly want to work to remove obstacles for our products to access the Chinese market."

Asked what the right-wing government she has led since 2022 hoped to gain from her visit, Meloni responded that Italy sought to "strengthen our co-operation with a view to ... clearly rebalancing trade".

Italy is of strategic importance to China as it has struck out on its own with Beijing before.

It could prove to be a moderating voice within the European Union, as the bloc's 27 members weigh up backing the Commission over tariffs on Chinese electric cars.

In 2019, Italy became the only member of the Group of Seven industrialised democracies to join Xi's Belt and Road infrastructure investment scheme that aims to ressurect the ancient Silk Road trade route, in a diplomatic coup for China.

Although Rome eventually exited the programme under U.S. pressure last year, it signalled that it still desired to develop its trade ties with the $18.6 trillion economy.

"As I have said many times, we were the only nation among the great nations of Western Europe to be part of the Silk Road. But we were not the nation that had the best trade with China. Far from it," Meloni told reporters the day after she met Xi.

"There are other nations in Europe that have had a much higher volume of Chinese investment."

During a Monday meeting at Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guest House, Meloni told Xi that Italy plays an important role in China's relations with the EU, adding that she hoped for trade relations that are "as balanced as possible".

EU members will vote in October whether to impose more tariffs on Chinese EVs. Italy is one of the countries to have indicated it will back the motion.