The Embassy of China in Colombo has hit back at the comments made by the United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina B. Teplitz on China’s role in the island nation.
In a media release, the Chinese Embassy said: “With great shock and strong discontent, the embassy learned about the United States Ambassador’s interview with a local newspaper, in which a foreign envoy from a third country openly played off China-Sri Lanka relations and severely violated the diplomatic protocol.”
The Chinese Embassy says it is not surprising to see the United States interfering into a sovereign country’s internal affairs, adding that “the general public is still astonished to witness its despicable attempt to manipulate others’ diplomatic relations.”
The statement stresses that both China and Sri Lanka as independent countries have full right to develop relations with foreign countries according to their own need and will.
“How Sri Lanka and China engaged with each other has repeatedly stood the test of time, and the government and the people of Sri Lanka have their own independent and fair judgment on the relations with China.”
The Embassy stresses that the United States has no power or obligation to “lecture on China-Sri Lanka relations” adding that “such naked hegemony, supremacy and power politics will neither be tolerated by the Chinese nor be accepted by the Sri Lankan.”
The Chinese Embassy has strongly suggested the United States to quit the “addiction of preaching others and applying double standards.”
It further emphasized: “Four simple but helpful advices to our arrogant friend from the other side of the world: Don’t slander other countries’ work in fighting pandemic while topping the world in COVID-19 cases; Don’t pretend the guardian of free trade while violating the WTO rulings; Don’t hold high the banner of transparency while covering up its controversial MCC agreement; Don’t smear others’ normal cooperation against sovereignty while bombing foreign countries, occupying overseas military bases and imposing unilateral sanctions.”
The Chinese Embassy further stated the ridiculous and hypocritical behaviours of the United States “will only damage its poor international reputation which is already hanging by a thread.”
