China foreign minister in Sri Lanka to discuss Belt and Road

By KRISHAN FRANCIS
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in Sri Lanka seeking to advance Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative as the island nation tries to rescue itself from a foreign currency and debt crisis, partly due to infrastructure built with Chinese loans that don’t generate revenue. Wang arrived from the Maldives on the last leg of a multi-city trip that has also taken him to Eritrea, Kenya and Comoros in Africa. He met with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Wang and the prime minister are scheduled to speak at Colombo’s Port City, a reclaimed island developed with Chinese investment. Sri Lanka faces one of its worst economic crises, with foreign reserves down to around $1.6 billion, barely enough for a few weeks of imports.