As the crisis-hit country continues to seek financial assistance from the international community and the Gulf without signs of promise, Lebanon is looking east at investments from the People’s Republic of China.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah suggested in a televised address June 16 that Lebanon should welcome Chinese investments in key infrastructure projects. Nasrallah also blamed Washington for the dollar shortage and implied that China could offer a vital counterweight. 

Discussion of the idea's feasibility made headlines in the Lebanese media. Al-Akhbar newspaper claimed that Chinese firms and state-owned institutions are interested in investing $12 billion in ports, railroads, electricity and waste management.

Speculation over Chinese assistance has increased as negotiations with the International Monetary Fund have faltered in recent days. The breakdown follows a dispute between the Lebanese government and the Central Bank over financial losses as well as the resignations of two members of the government's negotiating team on the grounds that the government lacks the political will to implement reforms. The last meeting with the IMF, attended by Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar, was held July 17. Since then the talks have stopped, according to a member of the Lebanese negotiating team speaking to Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity.