Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Yellen says it's in China's interest to restructure Sri Lanka's debt

Yellen says it's in China's interest to restructure Sri Lanka's debt

China is a "very important" creditor of Sri Lanka and it would likely be in the interest of both countries if China participated in restructuring Sri Lanka's debt, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday.
Yellen said she would urge other members of the Group of 20 major economies to put pressure on China to be more cooperative in long-stalled efforts to restructure the debts of countries in debt distress, including Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka owes at least $5 billion to China although some estimates put it at almost twice that amount. India has also lent it $3.8 billion and Japan is owed at least $3.5 billion, according to the International Monetary Fund, with another $1 billion due to other rich countries.

"Sri Lanka is clearly unable to repay that debt, and it's my hope that China will be willing to work with Sri Lanka to restructure the debt," Yellen told a news conference on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance officials on the Indonesian island of Bali.

She declined to comment on recent events in Sri Lanka, where people are waiting for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has fled the country to escape a popular uprising as it struggles with an economic crisis.

Sri Lanka defaulted on its $51 billion of international debt in May after years of heavy borrowing and tax cuts by the government, plus the damaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The economy of the country of 22 million people began to show cracks in 2019 after large tax cuts by Rajapaksa's government drained the country's coffers.

The pandemic then shattered the lucrative tourism industry, and rising global prices have left Colombo struggling for essentials such as fuel, medicine and food.

Yellen singled out China for failing to cooperate in efforts to provide debt relief under the Common Framework adopted by G20 members and the Paris Club of official creditors in October 2020 to help heavily indebted low-income countries weather the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three countries - Zambia, Ethiopia and Chad - have applied for help under the framework, but those efforts have stalled, largely due to foot-dragging by China, now the world's largest sovereign creditor, and private sector creditors.

"More needs to be done to help the most vulnerable, and this is a key message I will be emphasizing at these G20 meetings," Yellen told reporters, citing the deteriorating global economic conditions that have pushed many developing countries into graver economic straits since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

"A key objective of this trip is to push G20 creditors, including China, to finalize debt restructurings for developing countries now facing debt distress," she said.

Yellen told reporters earlier this week that it was "quite frustrating" that China was not stepping up on the debt issues, and said Chinese leaders need to better coordinate among various Chinese lenders to developing economies.

Washington would also provide a grant of $70 million to the International Monetary Fund's Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust to further enable the IMF to continue making zero-interest loans to the world’s poorest economies, Yellen said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×