Ms Meloni described her trip as “demonstrating a willingness to start a new phase and relaunch our bilateral cooperation”.
She also said the two countries signed an agreement aimed at strengthening cooperation on electric vehicles and renewable energy.
In a statement released by his office, Prime Minister Lee said the two countries aimed to strengthen “mutually beneficial cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises in fields such as shipbuilding, aerospace, new energy, and artificial intelligence.”
Italy is the only major Western country to sign up to the Belt and Road Initiative, one of China’s most ambitious trade and infrastructure projects.
The move was severely criticized by the United States and some other major Western countries at the time.
Since taking office in 2022, Ms. Meloni has sought a foreign policy that is more pro-Western and pro-NATO than her predecessor.
Before withdrawing from the BRI, Ms Meloni described the previous government’s decision to join the BRI as “a serious mistake”.
Under her leadership, Italy has moved to block a Chinese state-owned company’s takeover of tire-making giant Pirelli.
Rome also supports the European Commission’s recent imposition of tariffs of up to 37.6% on electric vehicle imports from China.
Last year, two-way trade between the two countries reached 66.8 billion euros (56.3 billion pounds), making China Italy’s largest non-EU trading partner after the United States.
