China's Buddhist Diplomacy: Sri Lanka's Heritage at Risk from CCP Influence

What seems like cultural diplomacy is actually ideological infiltration and Sri Lanka must navigate carefully to avoid trading its centuries-old Buddhist heritage at the expense of economic dependency, a report said on Thursday.

"Sri Lanka, long celebrated as the cradle of Theravada Buddhism, is now facing a subtle yet profound erosion of its religious and cultural identity. At the heart of this transformation lies China's strategic use of Buddhism as a soft-power tool, carefully woven into its broader Communist Party agenda. While Beijing's overtures are cloaked in the language of friendship and shared heritage, the underlying reality is one of ideological infiltration and cultural manipulation," a report in Sri Lankan media outlet Ceylon Wire News detailed.

According to the report, China has long recognised religion as a tool for diplomacy. In Sri Lanka, Buddhism's deep spiritual roots offer a natural entry point, with Beijing sponsoring temple renovations, cultural exchanges, and pilgrimages, while portraying itself as a custodian of Buddhist heritage.

"Yet beneath this veneer lies a calculated effort to align Sri Lanka's Buddhist institutions with the Communist Party of China's (CCP) worldview. Scholars have noted that China's Buddhist diplomacy is not merely about cultural affinity; it is a necessity for the CCP's foreign policy, designed to soften its image while embedding party-to-party ties alongside state-to-state relations," it stated.

The report stressed that Sri Lanka's economic vulnerability has provided fertile ground for asserting Chinese influence. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), once touted as a route to prosperity, has instead trapped the island in a "cycle of debt dependency".

"Costly infrastructure projects, such as the Hambantota Port, have left Sri Lanka struggling to repay loans, forcing concessions that deepen Chinese control. More recently, agreements have gone beyond bricks and mortar, explicitly tying Sri Lanka's digital economy plan to Chinese investment. This is not merely about financial assistance, it is about embedding the Communist Party of China's ideological framework into the nation's governance," it mentioned.

"By intertwining economic cooperation with CCP narratives of collective prosperity and obedience, Beijing ensures its political agenda permeates Sri Lanka's institutions. Complementing this economic entrenchment is China's Buddhist soft-power strategy, which reshapes spiritual narratives to align with its authoritarian worldview. Together, these material and spiritual dependencies form a dual front of influence, eroding Sri Lanka's sovereignty while subtly redefining its cultural identity," it further noted.

The report stressed that unchecked, Chinese ideological infiltration risks eroding centuries of spiritual heritage, "leaving Sri Lanka's Buddhist institutions vulnerable to becoming instruments of foreign propaganda rather than guardians of timeless wisdom".

- IANS