Chinese supermarkets dot the heart of Colombo, Sri Lanka, to serve Chinese employees and visiting investors. COLOMBO – Three Sri Lankan men arranged five types of soy sauce on the shelves of a new Chinese supermarket in Astoria mall on R. A.
De Mel Mawatha, a busy road lined with upmarket shops and popular eateries in Colombo, while Song Fang Mary jotted down the inventory in Chinese characters in her notebook. With the help of her local translator-cum-shop manager, Ms Song instructed the staff to display a bottle of golden-brown light soy sauce with bags of jasmine rice in the store front, to attract the Chinese regulars and a growing number of Sri Lankan customers. The 43-year-old Chinese woman from Guangzhou, the capital city of southern China’s Guangdong province, set off alone for Sri Lanka’s capital city 10 years ago to expand her family’s gems business.
But after the pandemic began in 2020 followed by Sri Lanka declaring bankruptcy in 2022, she switched trades, running a hair salon before moving on to sell Chinese groceries. “Food is always in demand, whoever the government, whatever the season,” said Ms Song, whose parents and sister joined her in Colombo last year, opening an Asian noodles and boba tea shop next door. The Chinese family’s fortunes mirror Sri Lanka’s ties with China.
Sri Lanka leaned towards China during the heyday of politician-brothers Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa served as president of Sri Lanka from 2005 to .
