Aerial photo taken on Sept. 23, 2020 shows a view of the construction site of the Colombo Port City in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Photo:Xinhua

Southwest China's Yunnan Province will send food packages to 10,000 property-stricken households in east Sri Lanka to aid the people's life amid "grave economic hardships" there, according to a statement released by the Chinese Embassy to Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Taking into account of the severe economic hardship that is affecting the people's livelihood in Sri Lanka, Yunnan Province plans to send food aid to eastern Sri Lanka, according to a statement posted on the embassy's website after a meeting between China's Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong and the governor of the Eastern Province.

The aid program was announced as the IMF held discussions with Sri Lanka on its loan request and the World Bank is preparing an emergency aid package, which includes $10 million in funding. 

The South Asian country, an island nation of 22 million, is enduring an economic crisis such as a crippling debt, a sharp drop in foreign exchange reserves and rising inflation.

In addition to the IMF and the World Bank, Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry said on Friday that the country is also discussing options for further assistance with India, China, Japan and the Asian Development Bank, according to Reuters.

The Chinese government has decided to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka to help the country cope with current economic difficulties as a long-standing friendly neighbor, the China International Development Cooperation Agency announced last week.

In addition to the debt woes including $8.6 billion of debt payments due in 2022, Sri Lanka now faces severe shortages of supplies include essential goods and energy used for power generation.

Global Times