On Friday, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s interim president until parliament elects a successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa within seven days. On Monday, Interim president Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency giving him broad authority amid growing protests demanding his resignation. Meanwhile, the country is continuing negotiations with China for a $4bln aid package and is confident that Beijing will approve ‘at some point’. Additionally, Sri Lanka is asking for a $1bln loan to repay an equivalent amount of Chinese debt this year and is also seeking a $1.5bln credit line to pay for Chinese imports this year.