China believes current predicament faced by Sri Lanka is only temporary

China firmly believes that the current predicament Sri Lanka is facing is only temporary; the tenacious and wise Sri Lankan people will surely rise to the challenge, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong has said in a statement.He has said that he is certain that Sri Lanka will be able to turn crisis into opportunity, and enter a new phase of development.

“As an island nation rich in agricultural resources, Sri Lanka had basically achieved self-sufficiency in rice production. However, due to the global food crisis, domestic foreign exchange shortage and fertilizer ban, etc., Sri Lanka is now facing a food shortage. According to WFP Sri Lanka: Situation Report issued on July 15, 2022, 6.3 million people were found to be food insecure (28.3% of the entire population), out of which at least 65,600 are severely food insecure. Skyrocketing food costs have resulted in diminished purchasing power. About 6.7 million people are not consuming adequate diets and 5.3 million are reducing the number of everyday meals,” he said.

Zhenhong said China pays close attention to Sri Lanka’s food security issues and has offered full support. Earlier this year, the Chinese government decided to provide RMB 500 million (approximately USD 76 million) of emergency humanitarian assistance, which includes 10,000 metric tons of rice for 1.1 million children in 7900 schools covering 9 provinces across the island under the School Meal Program, which will last for 6 months. Five batches of rice totaling 4,000 metric tons have arrived by now. Meanwhile, the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Yunnan Province, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, the Red Cross Society of China, etc. have donated tens of thousands of food packages to the Sri Lankan people of all ethnic groups.

“China will continue to offer support within its capabilities. China firmly believes that the current predicament Sri Lanka is facing is only temporary; the tenacious and wise Sri Lankan people will surely rise to the challenge, turn challenge into motivation, turn crisis into opportunity, and enable the country to enter a new phase of development,” he said.

He said that food security issues are not unique to Sri Lanka and according to the report of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022, 828 million people in 2021 were affected by hunger, an increase of 46 million and 150 million compared with 2020 and 2019 respectively.

“No country can stay away from this worldwide crisis, which could be overcome only through cooperative efforts. Proposing the above-mentioned initiative is a practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind, offering a Chinese approach to the current difficulties. China is willing to strengthen cooperation with all parties and make due contributions to maintaining global food security,” he said.