While signing loan agreements with India for the purchase of oil, food and medicine, China is also preparing to expedite a free trade agreement with Sri Lanka, which will seriously affect the country’s domestic industries.
A statement issued by the Sri Lankan Embassy in China yesterday (16) stated that the decision to expedite the agreement was taken at a meeting of the Ministerial Sub-Committee on International Trade.
The status of trade transactions between the two countries was also cited in the announcement, which mentioned that China sent $ 4700 million worth of goods to Sri Lanka last year, while Sri Lanka has sent $ 274 million worth of trade goods to China.
However, questions remain as to whether Sri Lanka, which already imports a large quantity of goods from China, compete with the Chinese market by entering into a free trade agreement, and what the fate of our country’s local industries be if these undrafted agreements are signed soon.