China urges Sri Lanka to restart port project
Beijing: China has urged Sri Lanka to review the $1.5bn port city project following the project suspension by the new government of Sri Lanka, which claimed the project lacks the necessary approvals.
Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Yi Xianliang has met with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and expressed concern over the decision made by the new government. The Chinese side has asked the Sri Lankan government to respect bilateral agreements and business contracts, which will benefit both sides.
“We will closely monitor how this plays out, and hope that the Sri Lankan side can properly resolve relevant issues and safeguard the rights and legitimate interests of Chinese companies, while protecting the fundamental interests of Sri Lanka’s national development and protecting Chinese companies’ enthusiasm to invest in Sri Lanka,” Hua Chunying, spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said.
Sujeewa Senasinghe, Sri Lanka’s deputy minister of justice, said that new laws are being compiled, to investigate allegations of large scale fraud in transactions with China.