China says ready to support Sri Lanka to overcome Economic Crisis

China assures it is ready to work with relevant countries and international financial institutions to continue to play a positive role in supporting Sri Lanka to overcome the current debt and economic crisis.

Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of China, Zhao Lijian stated this in response to a question raised by a journalist during a regular press conference on Friday (September 02).

When asked for China’s views, as a creditor nation of Sri Lanka, with regard to Japan’s request for all countries that lent money to the island nation to discuss debt restructuring, Mr. Zhao said China has paid attention to the difficulties and challenges faced by Sri Lanka.

“We have provided help to Sri Lanka’s socioeconomic development to the best of its capacity.”

Speaking further, he said China supports relevant financial institutions in consulting with Sri Lanka for proper solutions.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the International Monetary Fund and Sri Lanka reached a staff-level agreement to support Sri Lanka’s economic policies with a 48-month arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of about US$2.9 billion.

The agreement was reached following talks between Sri Lankan authorities and an IMF team headed by Peter Breuer and Masahiro Nozaki.