The Sri Lanka government leased its strategic port Hambantota on the Indian Ocean to China for 99 years as it was stressed because of the financial loans that China provided.
China has been providing financial loans to many countries in South Asia, Central Asia, and Africa, especially under its “One Belt, One Road” initiative. Sri Lanka owed Chinese State-Owned Enterprises a total debt of US$8 billion and was unable to pay the money back. Therefore, it resorted to leasing out its land in repayment of its debt.
Source: Duowei, December 14, 2017
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