Responding to US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Dean Thompson’s, statement that US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, will “continue to urge Sri Lanka to advance democratic governance, human rights [and] reconciliation”, China accused the US of coercion and bullying.

In their latest press statement, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka accused the US of having a “Cold War mentality and hegemonic mindset”, which they claimed was “doomed to fail”. They further alleged that the US had Pompeo’s visit and call for Sri Lanka to “make difficult but necessary decisions” was in “blatant violation of diplomatic protocols”.

The Chinese embassy’s statement called on the US to end its “ugly practices” of arbitrary interference and further attacked America on its coronavirus response.

The statement follows a recent escalation of tensions between the US and Chinese embassies, which began with an interview in which US Ambassador Alaina Teplitz warned Sri Lanka against becoming dependent on Chinese trade and raised concerns over lack of transparency. Chinese officials decried the statement as “despicable” and accused the US of maintaining a hypocritical double standard.

 In their statement, the JVP maintains that the US, whose “influence and power are waning in the world”, is “desperately attempting to fix its interests in South Asia”.

During a recent meeting between Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Yang Jiechi, Director of China's Central Committee's Foreign Affairs Commission, the Chinese diplomat pledged to defend the Sri Lanka at “international fora including United Nations Human Rights Council”.

Chinse has further granted Sri Lanka a concessionary loan of US$ 500m which is to be repaid across 10 years with no restrictions on the loan usage as well as an agreed grant from China’s International Development agency for 16.5 billion rupees for livelihood development in the country.

Read the Chinese Embassy’s full statement here.