Sri Lanka’s foreign minister said on Saturday that his government would send a delegation to Beijing to discuss concerns about Chinese loans underpinning development projects in the south Asian nation, revealing a potential new source of friction in the two countries’ relationship.
Sri Lanka’s new president, Maithripala Sirisena, defeated Mahinda Rajapaksa in a shock election result in January. Mr Rajapaksa had cultivated close ties with China, awarding Beijing-controlled companies large infrastructure projects that were backed by Chinese loans.
During the campaign, Mr Sirisena had pledged to review the terms of investment projects involving Chinese companies — in particular, a $1.5bn “port city”spearheaded by China Communications Construction Company.