The Embassy of China in Colombo has slammed the Ambassador of the United States to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung over her remarks during a recent interview with a UK television program on Sri Lanka’s debt issue.
 
In a press release, the Chinese embassy dismissed Chung’s comments as “baseless accusing and lecturing” and lambasted the US envoy for putting the blame on China for being the “spoiler” to Sri Lanka’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
 
Chung recently told BBC Newsnight that the US is hopeful that China would not delay extending support for Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process, as the island nation does not have time to delay, adding that it needs these assurances immediately. “"For the sake of the Sri Lankan people, we certainly hope China is not a spoiler as they proceed to attain this IMF agreement,” Chung had said further.
 
The Chinese embassy stated that it is “hypocritical” of the US to “play the blame game instead of a self-examination.”
 
It also raised concerns as to why the US did not take decisive actions in the IMF for a more comfortable solution for Sri Lanka or extend grant to the island nation “with the rocket amount of US dollars they print every year instead of sowing discord between China and Sri Lanka.”
 
“Both Chinese and Sri Lankan people are wise enough to judge without any foreign lecturing who the spoiler of our development is,” the embassy said further.