Sri Lanka turns to China for more investment help but move unlikely to strain ‘strong’ ties with India, US
The southern seaport of Hambantota was handed to a Chinese state-owned company in 2017 on a 99-year lease for US$1.12 billion, sparking security concerns from Beijing’s regional rival India. Gunawardena added that China would assist Sri Lanka’s restructuring of external debt, a key condition to maintaining a US$2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund