Think before scrapping FTA, China tells Maldives

China on Tuesday said it hoped the Maldives will think before scraping the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with it after an influential leader of the island nation said his country will pull out of it as the deal was blindly pro-Beijing.

Beijing also sought to put a brave face in the light of the Maldives’ new President Ibrahim Solih’s decision to review the Chinese investments made during the presidency of pro-China leader Abdullah Yameen.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry evaded a question whether Beijing felt the new Maldivian government was steering the country back towards India after being close to Beijing under Yameen.

“China-Maldives FTA is based upon the friendly and equal consultations of the two sides. The early implementation of the agreement will deliver benefits to the two sides at an early date. We believe the Maldives government will make the right choice in this regard,” spokesperson Geng Shuang said.

Mohamed Nasheed, a top leader of the governing alliance of the country, said that the FTA with China, signed last year under Yameen’s rule, was unfortunate and one-sided and Male would pull out of it.

The Maldives, under Yameen who was ousted by Solih in elections this year, had signed the FTA with China, becoming the only second nation to strike such a deal after Pakistan.