Ranil Wickremesinghe, a lawyer who served as Sri Lanka's prime minister a record six times, was sworn in on Thursday in the face of fierce public opposition. File photo: Reuters
China has pledged support to debt-ridden Sri Lanka during its tumultuous political transition.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that leader Xi Jinping had offered backing to the island’s new president as protests continued to roil the country, which is grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, a lawyer who served as prime minister a record six times, was sworn in on Thursday in the face of fierce public opposition.
Xi believes the country will be able to move towards economic and social recovery and he is “ready to provide support and assistance to the best of my ability to President Wickremesinghe and the people of Sri Lanka in their efforts”, CCTV reported.
Sri Lanka owes at least $5 billion to China although some estimates put it at almost twice that amount.
India has also lent $3.8 billion and Japan is owed at least $3.5 billion, according to the International Monetary Fund, with another $1 billion due to other rich countries.
Security forces raided and partially cleared a protest camp occupying government grounds in Colombo on Friday, fuelling fears that Wickremesinghe had launched a crackdown a day after being sworn in.
Beijing is desperate to rebuild confidence among overseas investors as its economy continues to struggle…
The US law enforcement chief said a Chinese hacking campaign known as Volt Typhoon has…
Officials from some of the world's biggest cities are in Washington to lobby for better…
China announces "anti-dumping penalties" on imports of a US chemical and orders Apple to cut…
Chinese companies invested in included the Aviation Industry Corp of China, a defence conglomerate that…
US tech giant said Beijing ordered it to cut the messaging apps because of national…