China’s Xi offers fresh US $ 295mn grant to Sri Lanka
Chinese President Xi Jinping has offered Sri Lanka a fresh grant of two billion yuan (US $ 295 million), as Beijing looks to expand its influence in the tiny island country off India’s southern tip.
President Maithripala Sirisena, a partner in Beijing’s multi-country Belt and Road infrastructure push, made the announcement on Saturday at a ceremony marking the start of construction of a Chinesefunded kidney hospital in his home constituency of Polonnaruwa, 230 km (142.92 miles) from Colombo.
“When the Chinese ambassador visited my house to fix the date for this ceremony, he said that Chinese President Xi Jinping sent me another gift,” Sirisena told the gathering.
“He has gifted two billion yuan to be utilized for any project of my wish. I’m going to hand over a proposal to the Chinese ambassador to build houses in all the electorates in the country,” he added.
The grant offer comes at a time when a Chinese firm is facing heavy criticism for allegedly financing the last election campaign of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Last month, the New York Times reported that China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC) gave US $ 7.6 million for Rajapaksa’s re-election bid, which he lost to Sirisena in early 2015.
Rajapaksa, the Chinese embassy in Colombo and stateowned CHEC have all denied the allegation, but Sirisena’s coalition government held a parliament debate on Thursday over the report and called for an investigation into the alleged funding.
Sirisena had at the start of his term suspended most of the Chinese-backed infrastructure projects started under Rajapaksa over suspected corruption, overpricing and for flouting government procedures.