Sri Lanka's prime minister said Wednesday that China has pledged to develop the island nation's strategic deep sea port and the capital's airport after talks with his counterpart in Beijing.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said China -- the island's biggest bilateral creditor -- would "assist" Sri Lanka's restructuring of external debt, a key condition to maintaining a $2.9 billion IMF bailout.
Beijing's position on debt restructuring has not been made public, but Sri Lankan officials have said China was reluctant to take a haircut on its loans but could extend the tenure and adjust interest rates.
Sri Lanka in 2022 ran out of foreign exchange to finance essential imports and declared a sovereign default on its $46 billion foreign debt.
Months of protests forced then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa out of office.
Gunawardena's office said Premier Li Qiang had promised China would "assist Sri Lanka's debt restructuring process continuously and help Sri Lanka to develop its economy".
Gunawardena said Beijing had offered "assistance to develop" Colombo International Airport and Hambantota port, the statement added, without giving further details.
A Japanese-funded expansion of Colombo airport had been on hold since Sri Lanka's sovereign debt default.
The southern sea port of Hambantota was handed to a Chinese state-owned company in 2017 on a 99-year lease for $1.12 billion, sparking security concerns in Beijing's regional rival India.
India and the United States are both concerned that a Chinese foothold at Hambantota, on the island's southern coast, could boost its naval advantage in the Indian Ocean.
Sri Lanka has insisted its ports will not be used for any military purposes, but New Delhi has objected to Chinese research vessels calling at Hambantota fearing that they could be used for espionage.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Sonakshi Sinha And Zaheer Iqbal Are Twinning And Winning
Chinese Woman's Refusal To Stow Louis Vuitton Bag Causes Major Flight Delay, Goes Viral Sri Lanka Has 39 Presidential Candidates This Time, But No Woman Among Them Watch: Virat Kohli Spotted In London After ODI Series Against Sri Lanka Mamata Banerjee's Sunday Ultimatum To CBI For Death Penalty In Rape-Murder Who Is Jasveen Sangha, "Ketamine Queen" Charged With Matthew Perry's Death "Don't Expect Anything From Me": Kolkata Hospital's New Principal Loses Cool Australia Rejects 7000 Palestinian Visas, Approves More For Israelis: Report Will AI Bubble Burst? All The Buzz Around The Hottest Tech Trend PM Shri Schools Are Inspiring Rural Children: Dharmendra Pradhan Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.