No ‘political strings attached’ to China’s support for Sri Lanka: Xi tells Ranil

China will continue to assist Sri Lanka without any “political strings attached” and help the country cope with difficulties, President Xi Jinping told his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday, according to an official statement, even as Colombo attempts to finalise a debt treatment plan with its creditors, including the Asian giant. Noting that Sri Lanka was among the first group of countries to join China’s ambitious connectivity project, President Xi said China would work with Sri Lanka to “jointly promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation” and push for new progress in “developing China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership featuring sincere mutual assistance and lasting friendship.” The two sides pledged greater collaboration on international and regional affairs, oppose politicisation of the human rights issue and bloc confrontation, and safeguard the common interests of the two countries and developing countries, the official Chinese statement said. Debt question Notably, a press statement from Mr. Wickremesinghe’s office mentioned Mr. Xi’s assurance of “friendly, practical and timely support for Sri Lanka’s debt optimisation programme,” but the statement from the Chinese side made no mention of debt owed by Sri Lanka, or an agreement on its treatment, as the island nation struggles to get out of its crushing economic meltdown. On Thursday, President’s Wickremesinghe’s office said in a statement that Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun reaffirmed Beijing’s commitment to extend “comprehensive support” for the implementation of a medium-term and long-term programme “mutually beneficial to both parties and aimed at optimising Sri Lanka’s debt.” Sri Lanka has been in talks with all its official creditors, including China, India, and Japan, who are its three largest bilateral lenders.