Maldives is not mired in a China debt trap: Wang

The Maldives are not "mired in a Chinese debt trap", the Chinese government's top diplomat told the visiting Maldivian foreign minister, amid fears in the Indian Ocean country of debts as high as $3 billion owing to Beijing.

The Indian Ocean island chain has been caught in a battle for influence between India and China, which invested millions of dollars during the rule of the pro-China former leader Abdulla Yameen as part of China's Belt and Road plan, designed to improve its global trade reach.

Meeting Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid in Beijing, Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi said China's cooperation with the Maldives would not be affected by the change of government.

The Chinese statement quoted Shahid as saying no country in the world had been as generous to helping the Maldives like China, pointing to the building of infrastructure and "provision of a large amount of aid and loans".