20.1 C
Athens
Σάββατο, 23 Νοεμβρίου, 2024

Is China playing a cat and Mouse game with SL Debt?

Περισσότερα Νέα

- Advertisement -

Recently, China’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Sri Lanka, met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe, and invited him to China for a conference on China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Sri Lanka’s President last visited China on May 14, 2019. Then, President Maithripala Sirisena travelled to China to attend a conference and met with the Chinese President. Following that, Gotabaya, who became president, was invited to visit China, but he declined. He initially refused to visit China due to the Covid, but later avoided China by travelling to other countries. This made China extremely uneasy.

After Ranil became the President, China invited Ranil to visit the country, but Ranil stayed until he received an invitation from India. The Chinese vice minister, who recently visited Sri Lanka, invited Ranil to come for a conference in China. Ranil had gone to a conference in Japan before that, and China must have thought that attending a conference in China would be easy for Ranil .  

There was no mention of debt restructuring in the official announcements issued after the Chinese vice minister met with President Ranil. It only stated that China would give maximum support to Sri Lanka to recover from the economic crisis. Ranil may be trying to go to China to discuss debt restructuring.

Former finance ministry secretary P.B. discussed debt restructuring with China even before Sri Lanka went bankrupt. That was in 2014. 2014 Chinese President came to Sri Lanka and before that P.B. Jayasundara  made a request from China’s Exim Bank to restructure the loan taken to build the Hambantota port. Although the Mahinda Rajapaksa government in Sri Lanka at that time was a close friend of China, China did not agree to the debt restructuring request. Instead, they wanted to sign agreements to further develop Hambantota port and cover the loss.

In 2015, Mahinda’s government lost the presidential election. In 2017, then Prime Minister Ranil went to China and asked for loan relief. But China rejected it. Then Special Projects Minister Sarath Amunugama revealed this in Parliament on August 16, 2017. He said this about China’s response to debt relief.

- Advertisement -

We had lent to many countries in the world. If we give debt relief to Sri Lanka, 30-40 will ask for same treatment.

This time, Ranil is going to ask for the restructuring of the Chinese debt after Sri Lanka bankrupted. China’s position in 2014 is unlikely to change in 2023. China is playing a game of ‘Hide and Seek’ on Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring. Ranil too until he win the next election, playing a cat and mouse game with I.M.F. India, China and Japan.

mawratanews.lk

- Advertisement -

ΑΠΑΝΤΗΣΤΕ

εισάγετε το σχόλιό σας!
παρακαλώ εισάγετε το όνομά σας εδώ

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Ροή ειδήσεων

ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Fatwa against VPNs: A threat to digital freedom in Pakistan

In a rapidly evolving digital world, where technology is increasingly integrated into every aspect of our lives, the internet is often viewed as a...

Strikes and protests increase in China due to unpaid wages and factory closures

Strikes and protests by labourers and industry workers have seen arise in China where such incidences are strictly forbidden. The majority of the protests...

Pakistan: HRCP demands reversal of Anti-Terrorism Act amendment proposal, warns of threats to democracy

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) concluded its 38th Annual General Meeting with a stern call for urgent action to address Pakistan’s worsening...

China’s space ambitions face ‘huge test’ from Musk presence in Trump White House

Tech mogul Elon Musk's potential weight in the second Donald Trump administration is likely to accelerate the US space programme and pose a "huge test" to China's extraterrestrial...

ΔΗΜΟΦΙΛΗ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Φέτβα κατά των VPN: Μια απειλή για την ψηφιακή ελευθερία στο Πακιστάν

Σε έναν ταχέως εξελισσόμενο ψηφιακό κόσμο, όπου η τεχνολογία ενσωματώνεται ολοένα και περισσότερο σε κάθε πτυχή της ζωής μας, το Διαδίκτυο θεωρείται συχνά ως...

Fatwa against VPNs: A threat to digital freedom in Pakistan

In a rapidly evolving digital world, where technology is increasingly integrated into every aspect of our lives, the internet is often viewed as a...

Σε κίνδυνο τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα στο Πακιστάν

Η Επιτροπή Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων του Πακιστάν (HRCP) ολοκλήρωσε την 38η Ετήσια Γενική Συνέλευση με μια αυστηρή έκκληση για επείγουσα δράση για την αντιμετώπιση της...

Οι απεργίες και οι διαδηλώσεις αυξάνονται στην Κίνα λόγω των απλήρωτων μισθών και του κλεισίματος των εργοστασίων

Απεργίες και διαμαρτυρίες από εργάτες και εργάτες της βιομηχανίας έχουν εμφανιστεί στην Κίνα όπου τέτοια περιστατικά απαγορεύονται αυστηρά. Η πλειονότητα των διαμαρτυριών διεξήχθη πριν...