INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday said he hoped to broaden cooperation with Sri Lanka under his Belt and Road infrastructure initiative
in Colombo on Monday, vowing to restore public faith in politics.The country is emerging from a years-long economic collapse blamed partly
on struggling high-debt Chinese mega-projects coordinated through the BRI, the massive infrastructure project that is a central pillar of
nations in unsustainable debt to exert diplomatic leverage over them or even seize their assets.But a chorus of leaders -- as well as
a huge Chinese loan, Sri Lanka handed its Hambantota port in the south of the island to a Beijing company on a 99-year lease for $1.12
billion.And the country defaulted on its foreign borrowings in 2022 during a crisis that caused months of food, fuel and medicine
borrowed from other countries.Last year, the International Monetary Fund -- the international lender of last resort -- approved a $2.9
billion bailout loan for Sri Lanka
Beijing also agreed to restructure its loans to the country.And this month, Sri Lanka secured a deal with international bondholders to
finalise a prolonged debt restructuring.Source: AFP--Agencies
