Italy has stripped China’s Sinochem of its influence as the largest shareholder in Pirelli, removing its right to appoint the chief executive or set the tyremaker’s strategy in response to worries about interference by the Chinese state.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s government has invoked national security concerns about the potential for misuse of Pirelli’s chip technology, as well as Chinese Communist party interference, to justify the new restrictions on Sinochem, which owns a 37 per cent stake in the business.

The details of the restrictions come after an unprecedented announcement from the Italian government on Friday night that it would impose a “network of measures to safeguard Pirelli’s independence”.

Read more about Sinochem and Pirelli.