BEIJING ¨C China wants to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with the Maldives, President Xi Jinping said in a congratulatory message to the newly elected Maldivian president, the leader of an opposition that has vowed to review Chinese projects.
China and India are going head-to-head for influence in the Indian Ocean nation, a string of palm-fringed islands and atolls over 500 km (300 miles) southwest of India¡¯s southern tip.
The Maldives opposition said before the election it will review China¡¯s investments in its ¡°Belt and Road¡± infrastructure initiative, partly out of concern over terms, as experts have warned that the archipelago risks falling into a debt trap.
Xi told Ibrahim Mohamed Solih that China and the Maldives share a long-standing friendship, China¡¯s official Xinhua News Agency said late Sunday.
¡°China is willing to work with the Maldives to continue to cement their friendship and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields to better benefit the people of both countries,¡± Xinhua said.
Xi told Solih that he values the development of relations and is willing to ¡°join hands with Solih to lift the comprehensive friendly cooperative partnership between China and Maldives to a new level,¡± the report added.
Defeated President Abdulla Yameen had drawn the Maldives closer to China since 2013 in a Beijing-backed infrastructure boom.
China¡¯s Foreign Ministry last week urged ¡°continuity and stability¡± in the Maldives after the election.
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