Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has requested the Chinese Foreign Minister to carry out debt restructuring to overcome the economic crisis.
Colombo:
Sri Lanka is facing an unprecedented economic crisis. As the prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed, people from all walks of life, from the rich to the poor, have been affected.
Unable to import the oil required for power generation, the power plants ran out of fuel. Therefore, the power supply is severely affected. Major cities, including Colombo, have been plunged into darkness for hours. The power outage may increase further in the coming days. The Sri Lankan government is borrowing more from countries like India to deal with this crisis.
In this context, Chinese Ambassador to Colombo Ki Jenhang has stated that China is considering a $ 2.5 billion loan and trade loan to Sri Lanka.
‘Sri Lanka has demanded $ 2.5 billion, including a $ 1.5 billion loan to importers. That demand is under consideration. The two countries should now discuss and decide on the use of credit and importer’s credit, ‘said Ki Zhenhang.
However, Ki Jenhang did not directly answer the question of whether China would restructure Sri Lanka’s debt.
When Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Sri Lanka last January, President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa called for debt restructuring to address the current economic crisis.
The Chinese ambassador’s announcement comes as India announced last week that it would provide a $ 1 billion loan as part of its financial assistance to Sri Lanka to overcome the economic crisis.
In February, India provided a $ 500 million loan to Sri Lanka to purchase petroleum products.
It is noteworthy that about 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s foreign borrowings are from China.
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