China emerges as Sri Lanka’s top lender in 2009
COLOMBO (AFP) – China has emerged as Sri Lanka’s biggest single lender in 2009, overtaking the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, the treasury said Wednesday.
China lent 1.2 billion dollars to build roads, a coal power project and a port in the island’s south last year, more than half the total of 2.2 billion dollars in foreign aid in 2009.
Project loans accounted for 1.9 billion dollars of the total, with another 279.6 million dollars in grants, the treasury said ahead of the 2010 budget.
Western donors have curbed aid to Sri Lanka over human rights issues and the government’s handling of the final weeks of a 37-year-old conflict with Tamil Tiger separatists, which ended last May.
The US has scaled back military assistance to Colombo, while Germany and Britain have pruned their aid to Sri Lanka. The European Union is also set to withdraw trade concessions to Sri Lanka from August.
As ties with allies in the West have soured, President Mahinda Rajapakse has deepened ties with Japan, India, China and Myanmar, as well as Iran.
“The government of China, Asian Development Bank and the World Bank were the three main donors who accounted for 1.9 billion dollars or 84.3 percent of the total commitment in 2009,” the report said.
Japan and the Manila-based Asian Development Bank have in the past been the biggest lenders to the island.
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China is fast becoming a hyperpower. China is a good friend who will support us against hostile imperila West in the UN along with our other friend Russia who is also a superpower. Imperial West will not dare try to invade us. Who care about losing a paltry 10% GSP+ concession. Our garment industry was able to export their garments before that. The garment industry need to focus on producing quality goods so as to have the edge on exports over their rivals in other third world countries. SL must make a name for themselves as a producer of quality goods in all industries. People in the world wants quality goods and not cheap rubbish.
Let us also forge more links with Inda, Pakistan, Iran, Lybia, Venezuela, Malaysia, Japan, and Indonesia etc to help us with aid packages to make up for cut-backs from imperial West. China especially does not tie us with strings attached to their aid as imperial West does who try to subvert us to fit their agenda for world domination.
Let us seek military training from India, Pakistan, China and Russia to make up for imperial West stopping their military training for our defence forces. Let China train our pilots and navies with better training in new technology.
This is really good news. Sri Lanka has a great friend in China. The Chinese are not worried about internal happenings such as minority discrimination and war crimes. Chinese interests coincide with that of the Rajapaksa clan. Our President is of the view that there are no minorities in Sri Lanka. Brilliant piece of political philosophy. The Chinese economy will overtake the US economy in 10 years time and links with the Chinese are vital to a struggling nation. A BIG THANK YOU TO CHINA.