Sri Lanka secures US$90 million grant from China amid ‘debt trap’ call

Island’s president asks Beijing for help to disprove that Chinese-funded megaprojects involved impossible repayments

Financial injection follows visit to Colombo last week by Politburo member Yang Jiechi

Reading Time:2 minutes

China says the grant to Sri Lanka will be used for medical care, education and water supplies in rural areas. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 2:19pm, 12 Oct 2020Updated: 2:19pm, 12 Oct 2020

China announced Sunday that it was providing a US$90 million grant to Sri Lanka, two days after the island nation’s president sought help from a visiting Chinese delegation in disproving a perception that China-funded megaprojects are “debt traps”.

Calling the financial help a “timely grant”, the Chinese embassy in Colombo said it would be used for medical care, education and water supplies in Sri Lanka’s rural areas. and that it would “contribute to the well-being of [Sri Lankans] in a post-Covid era”.

The announcement follows a visit to the Indian Ocean island nation on Friday by a Chinese delegation led by Yang Jiechi, a Communist Party Politburo member and a former foreign minister.

During talks with Yang, Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa asked China to help him in disproving a perception that China-funded megaprojects are “debt traps” aimed at gaining influence in local affairs.

China considers Sri Lanka to be a critical link in its massive Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure building drive, and has provided billions of dollars in loans for Sri Lankan projects over the past decade. The projects include a seaport, airport, port-city, highways and power stations.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x