---- Title: Sri Lanka ‘in a hurry’ to resume China... free-trade deal talks... to get ‘back on the radar’ after recent unrest ---- ... Talks between Beijing and Colombo over a free-trade agreement that began in 2014 have resumed, according to Sri Lankan ambassador to China, Palitha Kohona Sri Lanka has been racked by civil unrest and economic disruptions, but this month reached a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a US$2.9 billion bailout Read Also: Sri Lanka, IMF have agreed on a way out of nation’s economic hell. But what will it mean for the people? China’s debt leniency claim for developing nation ‘restructurings’ undercut by transparency issues ---- Image Caption: Sri Lankan ambassador to China, Palitha Kohona. Photo: Simon Song ---- ... Sri Lanka, racked by civil unrest and economic disruptions for much of the year, has resumed free-trade agreement talks with China over the past two months amid new social stability within the island nation, the South Asian country’s ambassador in Beijing said on Friday. “It’s been going on not at a high level, but at an official level,” Palitha Kohona told the Post. “We are in a hurry because we would like to see more goods get access to the Chinese market.” The two sides will consider an “asymmetric” trade deal that would address the small size of Sri Lanka’s economy compared to China’s and cover “low-hanging fruits” rather than every potential item eligible for import tariff cuts, Kohona added. Talks that began in 2014 had reached a fifth round in 2017, when the two sides exchanged views on trade, investment and economic cooperation, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. The Chinese ministry lists its Sri Lanka free-trade agreement – China’s potential third in South Asia after Pakistan and the Maldives – as “under negotiation”. China knows that Sri Lanka has gone “back to normal” following social unrest earlier in the year, Kohona said, and despite remaining financial issues, “Sri Lanka is much more stable than two or three months ago”. ---- Video Caption: IMF agrees to bail Sri Lanka out with US$2.9 billion conditional package ---- ... ---- Video Caption: Millions of Sri Lankans go hungry as food prices soar ---- ... ---- Video Caption: Desperate Sri Lankans seek to escape their country’s worst-ever economic crisis ---- ...