Few debt crises have triggered as much disinformation as Sri Lanka’s. The country is currently grappling with a complex debt restructuring process amid its worst economic crisis since independence. The role of Chinese debt has drawn much attention and many false narratives – not least the allegation that Hambantota Port was seized in a Chinese ‘debt trap.’

Now two Sri Lankan economists, Umesh Moramudali and Thilina Panduwawala, provided a detailed timeline of the crisis and China’s part in it. Their account is a great resource for those tracking the Sri Lankan crisis and for viewers of similar situations in Zambia and elsewhere.