China and Sri Lanka - Mar 20

The Colombo Port City project, an ambitious infrastructure development project contracted to a Chinese state-owned construction company by the previous Sri Lankan regime, is caught up in a political complication as the current Sri Lankan PM pledges to investigate corruption, waste, and cronyism between this project and the previous political regime. This ambitious 1.4 billion-dollar project, widely viewed as a regional diplomatic success in Beijing, aims to transform a backwater country into a modern-day luxurious sea port, and  in return, grants China access to the strategic ports that connect China to the Maritime Silk Road. Sri Lankans demands the current government to re-contract or dissolve the deal because the existing one violates necessary environmental regulations and sovereignty of Sri Lanka as it gives Chinese government the right to control in almost half of the land involved in the project. Source: South China Morning Post