America
Sri Lankan Crisis Affects China’s Investment, Bilateral Relations: Experts
augustroberts10 mins ago
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Tumblr Pinterest Reddit
China has so far maintained a striking silence about the dramatic collapse of Sri Lanka’s pro-Beijing Rajapaksa brothers, but experts say the current turmoil in Colombo has “significantly impacted the country’s close ties and its massive infrastructure investment. In a strategically located island nation in the Indian Ocean that warned that it would give.
Also read: “Supporting someone other than Rishi Sunak”: Boris Johnson enthusiastically tells allies Liz Truss as his successor
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country on a military plane a few days after the demonstrators struck his residence. He promised to resign on Wednesday in a massive protest against the island’s worst economic crisis. For months, people have suffered daily power outages and shortages of basic things such as fuel, food and medicine.
“In the short term, the Rajapaksa family’s influence on Sri Lanka’s politics will weaken, and a return to politics is unlikely in the near future, which will have a major impact on China’s relations with Sri Lanka,” said Lin Min Wan. Stated. A South Asian expert at Fudan University in Shanghai said on Tuesday as quoted by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country on Wednesday in fierce protests, including the seizure of his official residence by protesters, but his brother and former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa initially went to the naval base in the wrath of the masses. I had to evacuate.
Mahinda Rajapaksa ignores India’s security concerns and U.S. criticisms and warnings about Beijing’s “debt trap diplomacy” in strategically important countries of the Indian Ocean, and is a large-scale Chinese to the island nation. It is a very popular Sri Lankan leader in China by facilitating investment.
China has so far maintained a striking silence about the collapse of the powerful Rajapaksa clan, which is believed to be the main sponsor of China’s investment in China, which has faced the worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948. I did.
In response to a question about the Sri Lanka crisis on Tuesday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here that China is paying close attention to what is happening in Sri Lanka and resolves the crisis. I appealed to all parties to work together for the sake of.
As a friendly neighbor and cooperative partner, China has all parties in Sri Lanka acting for the basic interests of the country and its people, overcoming difficulties, social stability, economic recovery and livelihood. We sincerely hope to work together to achieve early improvement. , He said.
During the current crisis, China provided more than US $ 73 million in aid and recently sent large amounts of rice, but due to their plea to postpone the repayment of Rajapaxus and China’s loans for unexplained reasons. Did not provide the large-scale financial assistance sought.
“For Sri Lanka’s China-related debt, China is supporting relevant financial institutions in consultations and appropriate resolutions with Sri Lanka, as well as relevant countries and internationals to play an active role in overcoming Sri Lanka’s current situation. We are ready to work with financial institutions. Difficulties, reduced debt burden, realization of sustainable development. ”
China was also angry with Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s remarks last month that Beijing is shifting its focus from South Asia to Southeast Asia.
“In my analysis, China is shifting its strategic focus to Southeast Asia,” said Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
“They have a more strategic interest in the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, the region, and Africa. They have less interest in the region.
“I don’t know if I’m right or wrong. The interest in Pakistan is declining. This shows that their interest here is different than before. Their interest is the other two. We are moving into the field, “he said.
When Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s brother Mahinda came to power between 2005 and 2015, he released Sri Lanka. A controversial stock swap in addition to the unfinished Port of Colombo project being built on a landfill from the sea.
Lin Min Wan also warned that the crisis in Sri Lanka could cost Chinese investors.
The crisis caused by rising inflation, high debt and mismanagement of the economy is also a reminder for Chinese investors looking for developing countries vulnerable to rising fuel costs, food shortages and rising US interest rates. It was something to make.
“I don’t call it a lesson, but especially given the poor overall international environment and the generally very high debt ratios of South Asian countries, when investing abroad, local governments Remind me that abilities should be taken into account, “he said.
He added that China’s investment (in Sri Lanka) would suffer some losses.
However, Lin Min Wan said about the relationship between China and Sri Lanka because there is a inherent structural contradiction in the relationship between Sri Lanka and India, and Sri Lanka actually needs a country like China to balance with India. He said he didn’t have to be too pessimistic.
However, Mr. Liu Zhenyi, a senior researcher at the Shanghai International Institute, said Beijing has maintained friendly relations not only with the Rajapaksa family but also with all political parties in Sri Lanka.
Mr Liu said China is not obsessed with either faction.
Therefore, all previous Sri Lankan governments wanted to maintain amicable and cooperative relations with China.
There are concerns that Pakistan, facing a serious shortage of foreign exchange reserves, could go down the road in Sri Lanka. China recently intervened to provide US $ 2.3 billion to all-weather allies to strengthen its foreign exchange reserves.
After the economic crisis, Sri Lanka defaulted on US $ 51 billion in external debt, including Chinese loans.
In an editorial on the Sri Lankan crisis on Tuesday, the state-run Global Times argued that the turmoil was not caused by Colombo’s debt to Beijing, saying the United States and the West should not have been excited about the Sri Lankan crisis. rice field.
Sri Lanka is already injured and cannot withstand the pressure and cost of becoming a geopolitical stage. Many research reports have repeatedly shown that Sri Lanka’s current debt crisis is not directly related to Chinese-funded infrastructure investment. Bilateral debt to China accounts for only 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s total outstanding debt, he said.
It said that Western commercial creditors and multilateral financial institutions are responsible for Sri Lanka’s external debt.
The “national bankruptcy” crisis facing Sri Lanka is essentially driven by a global development and governance deficit.
The regional security crisis exacerbated by the United States and the West is deepening the global development crisis and hopes that the United States and the West will be able to curb the geopolitical urge to indulge in competition between the great powers. Said.
https://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-sri-lanka-crisis-will-affect-chinese-investments-bilateral-ties-experts-2969031 Sri Lankan Crisis Affects China’s Investment, Bilateral Relations: Experts
