Sri Lanka’s foreign minister pledged his government’s “unwavering support to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity” as he met with China’s Ambassador Qi Zhenhong in Colombo last week.
According to an official press release, Sri Lanka claimed China “appreciated the Government of Sri Lanka position and its consistent stance”.
G L Peiris met with the Chinese envoy, as an economic crisis has paralysed the island with fuel supplies reportedly set to run out within days.
Earlier this year Zhenhong said Sri Lanka still owed Beijing approximately US $390 million for 12 shipments of fuel that were delivered from July to January this year, as discussions began on financial assistance to help overcome the crisis.
Zhenhong also met with US Ambassador Julie Chung in Colombo last month, where the two reportedly “had a friendly discussion on broad topics of mutual interest”.
Sri Lanka is currently in the midst of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a bailout package. Patrick Curran, senior economist at US investment research firm Tellimer, told AP “Even if a staff-level agreement is reached, final programme approval will be contingent upon assurances that official creditors, including China, are willing to provide adequate debt relief”.
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