Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday congratulated his Maldivian counterpart on Maldives' 50th Independence Day as China looks to invest in the Indian Ocean island nation in a big way under the new law permitting foreign investors to own land.
In his message to President Abdulla Yameen, Xi said he believed that Maldives would realise further development under Yameen's leadership.
Reports in the official media in Beijing said Chinese firms may invest in Maldives in a big way after the new law passed by Maldivian government allowed foreigners with investment of more than USD one billion to own land within a specified site, on condition that at least 70 per cent of the area they develop is reclaimed from the sea.
Yameen had assured India that no military bases will be permitted to keep the Indian Ocean a demelitarised zone.
Fu Xiaoqiang, a scholar on South Asian studies at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations said Chinese investors and construction companies might benefit from the new law, given China's advanced technology in land reclamation.
"But that is about business," Fu said, adding, "There is nothing wrong with countries developing their economy in a legal way."
He said India has to get used to Chinese presence as it will become normal with more and more Chinese enterprises going abroad, Fu told local media.
Maldives under Yameen has moved closer to China as the Communist giant expanded its sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean region with big ticket investments both in Maldives and Sri Lanka raising concerns in India.
China is also the largest source of visitors to the Maldives and over four lakh Chinese tourists visited the island nation last year.
During Xi's visit to Maldives last year, China and Maldives also announced the establishment of a future-oriented all-round friendly and cooperative partnership.
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