Sri Lanka was hit heavily by the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, with up to 30,000 deaths. China was one of the first
countries to provide emergency relief. Premier Wen Jiabao visited Sri Lanka in April 2005 to pledge ongoing support and bolster
economic and political ties. In talks between Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Wen, the Chinese
government promised to help Sri Lanka to reconstruct half a dozen fishing harbours, as well as roads, bridges, and other infrastructure
developments. After the talks, Sri Lanka and China signed six accords on bilateral economic and trade relations, agriculture and debt
relief.
The China Harbour Engineering Company, a private enterprise which is responsible for all of China’s reconstruction work in Sri Lanka,
was quoted in the Chinese media as saying that China’s commitment to the reconstruction of the six fishing harbours amounts to US
$19 million.
One of these harbours, in Kudawella in the south of Sri Lanka, is due for completion before the end of 2006. Here, a group of around
15 Chinese workers from all over China toil to rebuild the wharf and an icehouse alongside onlooking unemployed locals as well as
fishermen. Some of the workers have been in Sri Lanka for up to 2 years, others just two months. They live together in a large,
sparsely decorated house in the nearby village. Most express discomfort with the tiring heat, and distaste for the local food. All
invariably miss their families back in China. But the money they receive is more than what they would earn in China. They are paid to
revisit home once per year. And they are aware that the work they are doing is helping Sri Lankan people reenergize their fishing
industry.
Whilst China itself is still the recipient of millions of US dollars of development aid, it is gradually emerging on the world stage as a
donor country. The intentions of China’s leaders are no doubt to some extent egalitarian, but it is doubtless that its overseas
development assistance is tied to its need to develop and harness strategic regional allies for secure trade relations as well as energy
resources.