Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardene is currently on a six-day visit to China.
On Wednesday, he held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang and signed a total of nine agreements.
In his meeting with Gunawardena, the Chinese President called for strengthening friendly relations between China and Sri Lanka.
After the meeting, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka has said that as per the agreement between the two countries, China will redevelop Sri Lanka’s deep sea port and Colombo Airport.
The Sri Lankan PM on Wednesday said China has promised to develop the island nation’s strategic deep sea port and the capital’s airport following talks with its counterpart in Beijing.
The Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s office has said that Beijing will also assist in restructuring foreign debt worth $2.9 billion.
Although Beijing’s position on debt restructuring has not been made public, Sri Lankan officials have said China could extend the tenure of its loans by not cutting them and also adjust interest rates.
China’s offer of help to Sri Lanka has come at a time when it has suffered a severe blow in Pakistan.
On March 26, at around 1 pm, five Chinese and one Pakistani national were killed in a terrorist attack on a convoy of Dasu hydropower project commissioned by a Chinese company in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
In 2022, Sri Lanka was hit by a severe economic crisis, when it ran out of foreign exchange reserves to import. In a situation of great chaos, Sri Lanka had declared itself a defaulter on its foreign debt of $ 46 billion. That year, months-long protests led to the resignation of then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s Office said that Chinese Premier Li Qiang has promised that China will assist Sri Lanka in its debt restructuring process and help develop its economy.
The statement said Beijing has offered assistance to develop Colombo International Airport and Hambantota Port.
Let us tell you that after Sri Lanka being a defaulter, Japanese help for the development of Colombo Airport has been stopped, which will now be completed by China.
On the other hand, the Southern Sea Port of Hambantota was handed over to China on a 99-year lease for $1.12 billion in 2017 itself. This has increased both China’s regional rivalry with India and security concerns.
Along with India, America is also worried that China’s establishment in Hambantota could increase its naval strength in the Indian Ocean.
Although Sri Lanka has insisted that its ports will not be used for any military purposes, New Delhi has objected to the calling of Chinese spy ships at Hambantota port.
In fact, under the pretext of development of Hambantota Port and Colombo Airport, China is trying to spy on the entire Indian Ocean and establish strategic dominance over it, which is a matter of concern for other Asian countries including India and America.