Sri Lanka is in the biggest economic crisis in 70 years, and India lends a helping hand!5 times larger than China

Sri Lanka is in the biggest economic crisis in 70 years, and India lends a helping hand! The scale is 5 times larger than that of China[Photo/Ling Media]

(Wang Qiuyan/Comprehensive Foreign Report) Sri Lanka is mired in the worst economic crisis in 70 years, with its people suffering from lack of medicine, fuel and food. Neighboring India has provided 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in credit, currency swaps, and emergency financial support. Delivered several batches of local urgently needed fertilizers and food. In contrast, China provided less than $80 million in aid.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin announced on the 16th that China has announced that it will provide Sri Lanka with 500 million yuan (74 million US dollars) of emergency humanitarian assistance, but Sri Lanka hopes that China will delay the aid but has not been agreed. Sri Lanka’s ambassador to China, Palitha Kohona, told Bloomberg: “Sri Lanka asked China to extend a $1 billion loan, and another $1.5 billion to import Chinese goods, and $1.5 billion in currency exchange. “However, Convoy said the Beijing authorities may agree to the request “at some point in time.”

In contrast, the Indian government has provided $3.8 billion in financial support. The BBC reported that the Tamil Nadu government has sent medicines and food to Sri Lanka and is asking the federal government to convene the current crisis in Sri Lanka for further assistance measures. In addition, according to India’s “Economic Times” report, in the past two months, the Indian government and people have successively provided more than 25 metric tons of medicines and supplies worth nearly 370 million Indian rupees to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is in the biggest economic crisis in 70 years, and India lends a helping hand! The scale is 5 times larger than that of China[Photo/Ling Media]

Sri Lanka, mired in its biggest economic crisis in 70 years, has received $3.8 billion in financial aid from neighboring India.Recap @sardesairajdeep twitter

The BBC reported that India’s assistance to Sri Lanka has changed the previous attitude of Sri Lankans and the new government. Sri Lankan citizen Sebastian (Tyronne Sebastian) told the BBC that India has provided Sri Lanka with immediate help such as fuel, which is the most difficult time for Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan social observer Melanie Gunathilake said Indians showed the greatest support.

Sri Lanka’s new prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has close ties to the Rajapaksa family, but it is believed that he will begin to lead Sri Lanka’s policy away from China and closer to India. After Wickremiesinghe took over as acting president last week, he has already forwarded the US$300 million project originally contracted by China to India, which is regarded by the outside world as a way to mend relations with India.

Sri Lanka is in the biggest economic crisis in 70 years, and India lends a helping hand! The scale is 5 times larger than that of China[Photo/Ling Media]

Sri Lanka’s new prime minister, Wickremesinghe, faces a difficult economic crisis.Retweet Wick Remisingh on Twitter

Sri Lanka is closely related to India in terms of culture, religion and economy. However, after Mahinda Rajapaksa, the former president of Sri Lanka, came to power in 2005, he was extremely inclined to China and intended to drift away from India. During its second term as president, Sri Lanka worked with China on a number of major infrastructure projects, including the port of the southern town of Hambantota.

After Mahinda’s younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa took the presidency, he continued the pro-China line externally, but internally he was unable to solve the problems of lack of materials, soaring prices, and a series of wrong With outrageous policies such as tax cuts and bans on the sale of gasoline and diesel to non-essential vehicles, the people finally couldn’t hold back their anger, and they continued to protest in the streets, forcing Gotabaya to step down.

Although some international media focus has equated the Sri Lankan economic crisis with the “China debt trap”, the actual reason is not so simple.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Sri Lanka’s overall foreign debt is as high as 51 billion US dollars, and China provides 5 billion US dollars in loans, accounting for about 10% of the country’s foreign debt ratio. It is not Sri Lanka’s largest creditor country. According to Sri Lankan government statistics, Japan accounts for about 10% of its overall foreign debt, and India accounts for about 2%. The largest creditors are financial institutions dominated by the United States and Europe, including BlackRock of the United States and Allianz of Germany. ), etc. The World Bank led by the United States is also a major creditor of Sri Lanka, accounting for about 13% of the country’s external debt.

Sri Lanka takes the export of agricultural products such as tea, coffee, rubber and other agricultural products as its main foreign exchange income. As early as 1965, Sri Lanka began to lend to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and is still negotiating bailouts with the IMF. The last straw that broke Sri Lanka’s economy was the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the damage to the tourism and tourism industry, and the setback of the export economy.

Harini Amarasuriya, MP of Sri Lanka’s left-wing National Union of People’s Power, believes that India has extended a helping hand when Sri Lanka’s economy is at its lowest, and may further expand its investment in the future, but remember that no country will be without interests. “India will certainly have their interests in mind”.

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