Ms Meloni described her trip as “a manifestation of the will to start a new phase, to restart bilateral cooperation”.
She also said the two countries had signed an agreement to promote cooperation on electric vehicles and renewable energy.
In a statement issued by his office, Premier Li said the two countries aim to strengthen “mutually beneficial cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises in the fields of shipbuilding, aerospace, new energy, and artificial intelligence.”
Italy is the only major Western country to join the BRI, one of China’s most ambitious trade and infrastructure projects.
The move was heavily criticized by the United States and several major Western countries at the time.
Since taking office in 2022, Ms. Meloni has sought to lead a more pro-Western and pro-NATO foreign policy than her predecessors.
Before withdrawing from the BRI, Ms Meloni described the previous government’s decision to join the initiative as “a serious mistake”.
“Every country is a [BRI] “Members know that China is number one and they are number two and I don’t think Italy as a G7 member wants to be grouped with Russia, Pakistan or Sri Lanka,” said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief Asia-Pacific economist at investment bank Natixis.
“There is no BRI [membership] Meloni comes to China at a different level of engagement – not as a vassal but as a partner,” she added.
Under the direction of Ms. Meloni, Italy has moved to block a Chinese state-owned company from taking control of tyre giant Pirelli.
Rome also backed the European Commission’s recent move to impose tariffs of up to 37.6% on electric vehicles imported from China.
Two-way trade between the two countries reached €66.8bn (£56.3bn) last year, making China Italy’s biggest non-EU trading partner after the US.
