Sri Lanka presidential hopeful Gotabaya Rajapaksa would restore China ties, adviser says
- Rajapaksa’s spokesman said he met this week with Chen Min’er, a close ally of Xi, to discuss future ties
- Beijing and Colombo’s already strained relations took a further blow when Sirisena alleged corruption at a Chinese firm contracted to build the country’s tallest tower
Neither the company nor the Chinese embassy in Colombo has commented on Sirisena’s allegations. China has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in its multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka.
“Now China is looking at us differently. When Gotabaya Rajapaksa becomes the president … he will set the record right and restore the relationship to where it was,” Rajapaksa’s adviser Palitha Kohona told reporters in Colombo.
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“I suppose the thinking was if we upset China, the West would come to us with endless bags of gold … But the bags of gold never materialised,” Kohona said.
Ties between Colombo and Beijing soured when, upon his election in 2015, Sirisena suspended all Chinese investment projects, citing allegations of corruption, overpricing and flouting of government procedures. He allowed projects to resume the following year after demanding changes in some.
Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said that at the meeting Chen pledged China’s support for the Sri Lankan government’s future endeavours.
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Rajapaksa is widely seen as the front runner in November’s election due to his popularity among Sri Lanka’s Sinhala Buddhist majority for his role in ending a 26-year civil war in 2009.
However, his candidature is yet to be confirmed, with uncertainties lingering over a legal battle related to misappropriation of funds and his renunciation of US citizenship. Sri Lanka does not allow dual citizens to contest elections.
Rajapaksa has denied wrongdoing and says he has already renounced his citizenship.