Chinese company funds TikTok account for Sri Lankan embassy in Beijing

Beijing [China], February 20 : A Chinese company -- CITS Overseas Economic Cooperation Co Ltd-- is funding the TikTok account of the Sri Lankan embassy in Beijing.
The move is intended to take Sino-Lanka relations to the "next level" as this year marks the 65th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with China and the 70th anniversary of the Rubber-Rice Pact between the two nations, reported The Sunday Times.
Addressing the event to launch the TikTok account on Friday, Sri Lanka's ambassador Palitha Kohona said that this account would be helpful to increase awareness of Sri Lanka, especially the culture and the tourism potential among the Chinese people, a statement from the Lankan embassy in Beijing said.
TikTok is the most popular social media platform in China. About 2.4 billion people around the world access TikTok daily.
Sri Lanka's ambassador Kohona is actively promoting Chinese investment in the country.
This would be the first official TikTok account of a Sri Lankan foreign mission, if not a first of its kind of a government institution in the country.
However, the question remains as to why a Chinese company came forward to pay the expenses of setting it up, and who would operate it, and also, what kind of contents would be disseminated, reported The Sunday Times.
Sri Lanka is moving away from China while getting close to India over the failure of Colombo to pay back Chinese loans worth USD 4.5 billion, amidst fears of a "debt trap".
Sri Lanka's credit rating has been downgraded by Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service due to delays in obtaining new funds, which are necessary to satisfy loan commitments. The country is on the verge of defaulting.
On January 17, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that "it would be a great relief to the country if attention could be paid to restructuring the debt repayments as a solution to the economic crisis that has arisen in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic."
However, China rejected the request with Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin remarking, "Sri Lanka will surely overcome the temporary difficulties as soon as possible."
Over the past few weeks, the country has struggled to pay off its fuel import bills.
Recently, India also provided financial assistance of 2.4 billion USD to Sri Lanka following a two-day official visit of the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, GL Peiris to India from February 6 to 8. GL Peiris said that Colombo was committed to special relations with New Delhi.
Last week on Tuesday, the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka handed over 40,000 MT fuel consignment by Indian Oil Corp Ltd to Sri Lankan Energy Minister, Udaya Gammanpila.
Fears have also been rife in Colombo regarding Chinese loans, as the country has previously been forced to hand over strategic projects like Hambantota port to the Chinese on lease over non-repayment of loans.