Oct 14, Colombo: Sri Lanka is willing to make every effort to promote China’s Belt and Road projects in the country and Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa publicly refuted the claim that China had set up a debt trap to control Sri Lanka, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday.

At the Regular Press Conference on October 13, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson noted that so far, no Belt and Road partner has fallen into any so-called debt trap because of its cooperation with the BRI. “On the contrary, many partners have spoken highly of the BRI. “

The spokesperson said for example, on October 9, Sri Lankan President publicly refuted the claim again that China had set up a debt trap to control Sri Lanka.

He said China has made great contributions to Sri Lanka’s infrastructure construction and development.

The Spokesperson added that Sri Lanka is willing to make every effort to promote the joint construction of the key cooperation projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, such as the comprehensive development of Colombo Port City and Hambantota Port, so as to raise mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries to a higher level and better benefit the people of the two countries.

“As is known to all, BRI cooperation adheres to the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and is advanced through open, green and clean approaches and aims to achieve development featuring high standards, livelihood improvement and sustainability. Relevant projects are conducted through cooperative efforts to ensure sustainability in economic, social, fiscal, financial and environmental sectors.”

China believes that those who view and analyze the BRI in an objective and unbiased way will arrive at a right conclusion, Zhao said.

“Those that are cooperating with China are in the most suitable position to comment on how such cooperation is going, and they have given their unequivocal answer by signing more than 130 BRI cooperation documents and seeking to expand cooperation with China. All attempts to smear and slander will fade into nothing in front of these facts,” he asserted.