Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to visit Sri Lanka amid foreign exchange crisis 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is set to arrive in Sri Lanka on Saturday on a two-day visit and is scheduled to meet the nation’s top leadership. It is to mention that Wang’s visit come a day after India signed an agreement with Sri Lanka to redevelop a strategic oil terminal. It also comes as Beijing seeks to balance US and Indian influence in the Indo-Pacific region. 

According to PTI, during his visit, Wang will be meeting Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister G L Peiris. His visit will mark the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations and the 70th anniversary of the Lanka-China Rubber Rice Pact - a trade agreement under which Colombo supplies rubber to Beijing in exchange for rice. Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary Jayanath Colombage has said that new Chinese investment opportunities might be sealed by Sri Lanka during the foreign minister's visit.

It is to note that Sri Lanka currently needs cash, and therefore its leaders have sought to balance ties between major powers to get funds. As per reports, the prices of essential items in the island nation have soared as the country runs out of foreign exchange to pay for imports. Moreover, COVID-19 cases are also hitting record highs in Sri Lanka. 

Sri Lanka turns to China, India to get out of the foreign exchange crisis 

Sri Lanka’s leadership has turned to China and India for loans and help to rebuild the country’s infrastructure since the civil war ended in 2009. On Thursday, Colombo signed a deal with India to lease 75 oil tanks, amid efforts to look for innovative ways to ring in foreign exchange. The country also moved closed to securing a $500 million fuel credit from India. 

Meanwhile, China’s relations with Sri Lanka has been under stress in recent months. Previously, China protested against Sri Lanka’s rejection of an organic fertiliser shipment which the local farmers and some experts claimed was contaminated. While the Sri Lanka commercial high court blocked payment for it, China, on the other hand, black-listed the Sri Lankan bank for not honouring the payment. However, on Friday, on the eve of Wang’s visit, Sri Lanka's People's Bank released $6.9 million US to the Chinese company.

Image: AP/PTI