<span style="color: #222222;">China today said it is following the situation in Sri Lanka as violent anti-government protests erupted following economic turmoil.<br />''<br />''China which has substantial investments has asked the Chinese nationals working in the island nation to be alert and on guard against risks.<br />''<br />''China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Chinese side is closely following the developments.<br />''<br />''Beijing has not yet commented on the resignation of prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is considered a big supporter for large-scale Chinese investments, including Hambantota port in his hometown, which China took over on a 99-year lease as a debt swap.<br />''<br />''Rajapaksa's resignation was seen as a setback for China. Despite its huge investments of over USD 8 billion in the last few years, China conspicuously kept silent on Sri Lanka's economic crisis. Sri Lanka last month unilaterally suspended external debt repayments before approaching the IMF for help. China is one of Sri Lanka's largest bilateral lenders with about 6.5 billion dollars in loans.</span><br />