Colombo: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday described China as a 'predator' as he brought the Trump administration’s anti-China campaign to Sri Lanka, a nation considered particularly at risk for what American officials allege is Chinese exploitation.
Pompeo is visiting the country and the Maldives to press the two nations to be on guard against potential predatory lending and investment by China.
He was making the case less than a week before the US election in which President Donald Trump is seeking to paint his rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, as weak on China and beholden to it.
Even before Pompeo arrived in Sri Lanka, China had fired back at the US message, accusing Washington of bullying smaller nations.
Read:| Pompeo calls on Sri Lankan prez; holds bilateral talks
Pompeo, who will also visit the Maldives and Indonesia, will press each nation to push back against increasing Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.
US officials complain development and infrastructure projects benefit China more than the presumed recipients - a refrain Pompeo repeated with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.
Pompeo said the country could be “a beacon” for freedom and democracy in the region as long as it retained its "full sovereignty.”
“That is quite a contrast to what China seeks," Pompeo said. "The Chinese Communist Party is a predator. The United States comes differently. We come as a friend and a partner.”
Gunawardena appeared unwilling to get involved in the spat with China and said Sri Lanka is willing to cooperate with all friendly countries.
Earlier this month, Beijing announced it would provide Sri Lanka with a $90-million grant to help rural development after the country's president sought help from a visiting Chinese delegation in disproving a perception that China-funded mega projects are “debt traps.”
Read:| Pompeo to hold talks with Sri Lankan leaders in Colombo
China considers Sri Lanka to be a critical link in its massive “Belt and Road” global infrastructure-building initiative and has provided billions of dollars in loans for Sri Lankan projects over the past decade.
The projects include a seaport, airport, port-city, highways and power stations.
Critics like the US say that the Chinese-funded projects are not financially viable and that Sri Lanka will face difficulties in repaying the loans.
In 2017, Sri Lanka leased out a Chinese-built port located near busy shipping routes to a Chinese company for 99 years to recover from the heavy burden of repaying the Chinese loan the country received to build it.
Ahead of Pompeo's arrival in Colombo, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka denounced his visit, accusing one of his top aides of making unacceptable threats against the country.
AP
