Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is the Maldives' seventh president [Mohamed Sharuhaan/ Al Jazeera]
Reuters: Exclusive: Maldives set to pull out of China free trade deal, says senior lawmaker
MALE (Reuters) - The Maldives’ new government will pull out of a free trade agreement (FTA) with China because it was a mistake for the tiny nation to strike such a pact with the world’s second biggest economy, the head of the largest party in the ruling alliance said.
It is the latest sign of a backlash against China in the Maldives, best-known for its luxury resorts on palm-fringed coral islands.
“The trade imbalance between China and the Maldives is so huge that nobody would think of an FTA between such parties,” said Mohamed Nasheed, the chief of the Maldivian Democratic Party, which leads the ruling federal alliance. “China is not buying anything from us. It is a one-way treaty.”
On Saturday, as he took office, the new President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih declared the state coffers have been “looted” and warned that the country was in financial difficulty after racking up debt with Chinese lenders.
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WNU Editor: Maldives is becoming the poster-child on why countries should avoid free trade deals with China, and accepting Chinese loans.
Update: Togo has also been caught-up in the Chinese debt trap .... Tonga gets five years' grace on Chinese loan as Pacific nation joins Belt and Road initiative (ABC News Online).