China raised concerns over Mike Pompeo’s trip as Sri Lanka grapples with coronavirus
Colombo:
China raised objections to what it called the US intimidation of Sri Lanka after Washington said the Indian Ocean island had to make “difficult but necessary choices” about its ties with China.
The comments from the Chinese embassy in Colombo came shortly before the arrival on Tuesday of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is on a tour of Asia aimed at pushing back China’s growing influence in the region.
“We are strongly opposed to the United States taking the opportunity of the Secretary of State’s visit to seed and interfere in Sino-Sri Lankan relations, and to coerce and intimidate Sri Lanka,” he said. the embassy said in a statement Monday evening.
China has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka as part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at connecting Asia, Europe and beyond, to the alarm from India and the United States.
The embassy said China’s ties to Sri Lanka date back 2,000 years and the two countries don’t need a third party to dictate terms.
Pompeo’s trip to Sri Lanka and then the Maldives, another island nation in the Indian Ocean, is seen as part of an attempt to counter China’s dominant economic presence in small countries, which has left some of them heavily in debt.
Ahead of the trip, Dean Thompson, a senior official at the State Department for South and Central Asian Affairs, said Sri Lanka had to make tough choices to secure long-term economic independence.
China has also expressed concern that Pompeo is making the trip at a time when Sri Lanka is grappling with the novel coronavirus.
“Is it useful for local epidemic prevention and control? Is it in the interest of the Sri Lankan people,” the embassy asked.
A Chinese delegation led by its top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, visited Colombo this month, but it has minimized its staff and activities in accordance with guidelines to avoid an increase in cases, the embassy said.
“We are ready to share these practices with the United States, in the hope of providing references for the visit of the Secretary of State and his management of relations with small and medium countries,” he said. he declares.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
