Ambassador of China to Maldives Zhang Lizhong has stated that if false statements made by some individuals continue, the long-term interests of the development of Maldives and the people would not go unharmed in the end.
In a statement published by the Ambassador of China to Maldives Zhang Lizhong on Sun Online, he noted that China has observed that some individual figures have successively made false statements about the China-Maldives mutual beneficial cooperation by fabricating the so-called "land grabbing" and "debt trap". The Chinese Ambassador cited that such accusations endanger the security of the Indian Ocean region and was attempted to incite relations between China and the countries in the region.
Ambassador Zhang Lizhong said that the China Maldives corporation helmed by Chinese's Belt and Road" initiative aims to improve people's livelihood and achieve mutually-beneficial and win-win results to citizens of both countries. The Ambassador noted, various developmental projects such as the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge and reconstruction and expansion of Velana International Airport (VIA) has been steered and progressing at a fast pace by Chinese companies. The Chinese Ambassador added that China has always remained a steadfast partner by successfully completing the development of projects such as Laamu link road and construction of housing units in Hulhumale'.
Continuing on, Ambassador Lizhong said that there is absolutely no so-called "land grabbing" in mutual beneficial cooperation between China and Maldives. He noted that Chinese companies are only involved in very few tourism islands in operation, which is a completely normal investment behavior. Ambassador highlighted that the China-Maldives mutual beneficial cooperation did not begin from the current Maldivian Government.
On this note, he highlighted that in July 2010, the National Museum of Maldives was built and completed with free aid from China, the inaugural ceremony was attended by then President Mohamed Nasheed and the former first lady. He said that the same year, the number of Chinese tourists traveling to the Maldives surpassed the Great Britain and became the largest tourist source country. The Chinese Ambassador concluded by stating that China stands for proper settlement of the current political crisis in the Maldives through dialogue and consultation of all parties and revealed that it follows a non-intervention policy.