Sri Lanka, Oct. 20 -- Sri Lankan observers suspect geopolitical influence played a role in China Merchants Port Holdings withdrawing from a $392 million joint venture to build a major logistics hub at the Colombo Port.

Director of Belt and Road Initiative Sri Lanka Maya Majueran stated that the company's departure from the South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub project remains unfortunate for the island nation, though attributing it to a single reason would prove inaccurate.

A combination of accumulated risks ultimately rendered the initiative commercially unviable, Majueran explained.

Three primary factors converged to prompt this exit, according to Majueran.

Geopolitical concerns from India and the United States over Chinese involv...