Zhou Bo, a fellow at Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy and a China Forum expert, gave an interview to the BBC recently on the construction and future of Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port City.

How much of an economic game changer the Port City will really be for Sri Lanka remains unknown, the BBC reported. In 2009, Sri Lanka turned to China for financial help to rebuild the Port City, and Western nations had raised concerns over human rights abuses. There have also been local concerns over Chinese loans—one example is the change of ownership of Hambantota port to Chinese control in 2017 after Sri Lanka struggled to pay off debts. Other concerns over the scheme include the environmental impact of the project, whether such a development will benefit the country, and the drawbacks of an overly conducive business environment including significant tax holidays.

“China has taken over as much as everything in the Port City, the whole thing,” opposition MP Rajitha Senaratne told the BBC, “One day, actually Sri Lanka won’t have any say in this project.” Sri Lankan opposition MP Rajitha Senaratne told the BBC.

In response, Zhou Bo argued that the aim is for both countries to benefit. “China’s Belt and Road Initiative is not a charity. We also want to be mutually beneficial. That means we also want our investments to have economic returns,” he told the BBC, stressing that “China has no intention of putting any country in a debt trap.”

“The entire area is under Sri Lankan sovereign control. The right to patrol, police, immigration and other national security duties lie with the Sri Lankan government,” said Saliya Wickramasuriya, of the Port City Economic Commission.

Read the original article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59993386