Workers hold a Chinese flag at Hambantota port in Sri Lanka onAug. 16, 2022.Chinese President Xi Jinpingwants his country to play a larger role in global affairs through Belt and Road Initiative projects such as this one. © AP
New $4.5 bn Sinopec deal comes amid debt restructuring, BRI lending shift
CISSY ZHOU, Nikkei staff writer | Sri Lanka
HONG KONG -- Surging investment from China, including a multibillion dollar oil project late last year, is leaving a giant question mark over Sri Lanka even as it tries to restructure towering debt and recover from its worst economic crisis as an independent nation: Just how much leverage does Beijing have over the island country?
China is the largest bilateral creditor to Sri Lanka, which in May 2022 became the first Asian lower-middle income country to default on its sovereign debt in two decades. Chinese loans had financed a string of large infrastructure projects, including highways, an airport and a port in the country.
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