Economic Crisis In Sri Lanka, China Refuse To Assist
As per the media reports, Sri Lanka is facing an economic crisis & China refuses to assist further rejecting the appeal to reschedule the debt return date. The current situation in country indicates high inflation, fuel shortages, negatively affected tourism, a high rise in commodity prices and many more. The country is facing all these troubles due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Capital city Colombo appeals for the rescheduling of debt, which can be done to attenuate the economic troubles arising from the COVID-19 outbreak. A meeting was held with Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi, President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa sought assistance amid the severe shortfall of Sri Lankan Rupee.
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Media Reports
As per the Hong Kong media reports, “Replying to a question on the pending request from Sri Lanka for a debt relief, Foreign Ministry spokesman of China Zhao Lijian said in a news conference this month, that China had been providing assistance for the socio-economic development of Sri Lanka to the best of its ability and would continue to do so. In concrete terms, this meant nothing.”
“China has shed some crocodile tears over the economy of Sri Lanka getting caught in a quagmire after hobnobbing with the BRI projects of China, record inflation, soaring food prices and the sufferings of the people.” as per a media report.
Further added, “The key concern, however, is how such a negative situation would impact the attitude of Colombo towards borrowings from China,and what it would mean for the ultimate relation between China and Sri Lanka. There is concern that the experience of the country is prompting countries like Myanmar, Malaysia and Nepal to suspend Chinese investment projects.”
The economic status of the country was already unsteady and the COVID-19 outbreak worsened it. The country is facing debt liabilities due to the “China’s Belt and Road Initiative” projects like Hambantota Port and Colombo Port City.
