China, which significantly deepened its economic and strategic presence in Sri Lanka during the tenure of outgoing President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has congratulated newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena on his election victory and said it “hopes and believes” the new government “will carry on friendly policies towards China”.
Beijing also responded to criticism of its projects in the island nation - most prominently voiced by Sirisena himself during the election campaign - and said it hoped the new government would “lend its support” to ensure the completion of ongoing projects.
“China congratulates Mr Sirisena on his election as new President of Sri Lanka,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said. “We believe he will lead the Sri Lankan government and its people to make new headways in its national development.”
While Sirisena had during the campaign promised to even review some of China’s investments in the country, such as an expansive Colombo port development initiative, Hong defended China’s role in Sri Lanka’s development, saying that “our mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields has brought tangible benefits to two peoples”.
“We will work with Sri Lanka to build on what we have achieved and move forward our strategic partnership for cooperation,” he said, adding that current projects were taken forward “based on equality, mutual trust and mutual benefit”.
Sirisena’s New Democratic Front party manifesto was critical of foreign credit and investments, warning that money received from abroad was “a mega ransom” going to “a few individuals”.
While not directly naming China - which has overtaken Japan as the biggest source of financial aid - the manifesto said, “Generations of our children and grandchildren will not be able to completely finish paying off this debt. As a consequence the country and its properties would be forfeited as mortgages. So our land and property would fall into the hands of foreigners”. It added, “If this trend continues for another six years, our country would again become a colony and we would be slaves.”
Hong, of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said Beijing believed the new government would continue “friendly” policies towards China. “Our friendship runs deep and successive governments of Sri Lanka have had friendly policy to China. We have good momentum there,” he said.
“This cooperation has and will continue to serve the two peoples. We hope and believe the new government will carry on friendly policies towards China, and lend their support to relevant projects to make sure these projects are successful”.
The NDF manifesto said the party hoped to “strengthen cordial relations” with “India, China, Pakistan and Japan”, and would have with India “closer relations with an attitude that would be neither anti-Indian nor dependent”.
