斯里蘭卡擬重新談判中國貸款

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister said on Saturday that his government would send a delegation to Beijing to discuss concerns about Chinese loans underpinning development projects in the south Asian nation, revealing a potential new source of friction in the two countries’ relationship.

斯里蘭卡外長上週六表示，他的政府將派遣一個代表團前往北京，討論支撐這個南亞國家許多發展項目的中國貸款所引發的擔憂。此言揭示了兩國關係中潛在的新摩擦來源。

Sri Lanka’s new president, Maithripala Sirisena, defeated Mahinda Rajapaksa in a shock election result in January. Mr Rajapaksa had cultivated close ties with China, awarding Beijing-controlled companies large infrastructure projects that were backed by Chinese loans.

斯里蘭卡1月份舉行的大選結果令人震驚，邁特里帕拉•西里塞納(Maithripala Sirisena)擊敗馬欣達•拉賈帕克薩(Mahinda Rajapaksa)，成爲該國新總統。拉賈帕克薩在任時與中方建立起密切關係，將一些大型基礎設施項目授予中國政府控制的公司，這些項目得到中國貸款的支持。

During the campaign, Mr Sirisena had pledged to review the terms of investment projects involving Chinese companies — in particular, a $1.5bn “port city”spearheaded by China Communications Construction Company.

西里塞納在競選期間承諾，將重新審議涉及中資企業的投資項目的條款，尤其是由中國交通建設股份有限公司(China Communications Construction Company)牽頭的15億美元“港口城”項目。

Speaking at the conclusion of a two-day visit to Beijing, Sri Lanka foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera estimated that China had lent $5bn to support development projects in the country, most of them involving Chinese state companies. In May last year, Mr Rajapaksa’s administration put total Chinese lending at $3.8bn.

斯里蘭卡外長曼加拉•薩馬拉維拉(Mangala Samaraweera)在結束爲期兩天的北京之行時發表講話，他估計，中國已放貸50億美元支持斯里蘭卡的發展項目，此類項目大多涉及中國國有企業。去年5月，拉賈帕克薩的政府估計中國貸款總額爲38億美元。

According to Sri Lankan media reports, interest rateson some of the loans were revised upwards when projects were renegotiated to give local parties bigger equity stakes. The cost and transparency of the Chinese loans was one of the issues raised during the country’s recent presidential campaign, and Mr Samaraweera said Sri Lanka’s finance minister would travel to Beijing to discuss the issue and possible amendments to the terms of the funding.

據斯里蘭卡媒體報道，在項目得到重新談判、以便賦予當地合作方更多股份時，其中一些貸款的利率被調高。中國貸款的成本和透明度是斯里蘭卡近期總統大選期間的話題之一。薩馬拉維拉表示，斯里蘭卡財政部長將前往北京討論這個問題以及修改資金條款的可能性。

“We do have some concerns,” Mr Samaraweera told reporters. “The people of Sri Lanka raised many questions, about the interest rates especially, and in certain cases about the manner in which these loans were raised.”

“我方確實有一些顧慮，”薩馬拉維拉告訴記者們。“斯里蘭卡人民提出了很多問題，尤其是對於利率，在某些情況下也針對這些貸款的籌措方式。”

The foreign minister added that the loan delegation would travel to Beijing after Mr Sirisena concludes a state visit to China at the end of March. The new president’s first overseas trip was to India, signalling his administration’s determination to pursue a “more balanced” foreign policy.

這位外長補充說，討論貸款問題的代表團將在西里塞納總統3月底結束對中國的國事訪問之後前往北京。新總統的首次海外之行是訪問印度，突顯他的政府決心追求“更爲平衡”的外交政策。

“We want to engage the world for the betterment of our people,” Mr Samaraweera said. “We want to work with everyone.”

“我們要爲了我國人民的福祉與世界接觸，”薩馬拉維拉表示。“我們希望能和所有國家展開合作。”

Indian government officials have also expressed concerns about the port city project in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, a portion of which would be granted to the Chinese developer in perpetuity.

印度政府官員也曾對斯里蘭卡首都科倫坡的港口城項目表示擔憂，該項目的一部分將被永久授予中國開發商。

They were further unnerved in November when Chinese warships arrived in Colombo, in a visit that coincided with a visit to Sri Lanka by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. Beijing-controlled companies have also been contracted to build and operate a container port in the capital.

令他們更加感到不安的是，去年11月日本首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)訪問斯里蘭卡時，中國軍艦同時抵達科倫坡。中國政府控制的公司還將在科倫坡承建和運營一個集裝箱碼頭。

“I don’t know what circumstances led to some [Chinese] submarines coming to the port of Colombo on the very day the Japanese prime minister was visiting Sri Lanka,” Mr Samaraweera said. “But we will ensure that such incidents . . . do not happen during our tenure.”

“我不知道是什麼情況導致中國潛艇在日本首相到訪斯里蘭卡的當天抵達科倫坡港，”薩馬拉維拉表示。“但在我們任職期間，我們將確保此類事件……不發生。”