Sichuan Promotion Association undertakes business exploration tour of Sri Lanka

The Government of China views South Asian countries as strategic partners in the Belt and Road initiative. The central and provincial committees of the Chinese Communist Party attach great importance to co-operation with South Asia. The Chinese Government has a major strategic layout in which Sri Lanka and the city of Colombo will play a major role. The China Communications Construction Company through its subsidiary CHEC Port City Colombo Ltd. is the implementing partner of the Colombo Port City Project in Sri Lanka. 

In the second half of 2018-2019, the Sichuan Promotion Association for the Belt and Road Initiative led several teams to Sri Lanka to explore business opportunities. The delegations met several Government ministers, tour directors, parliamentarians, mayors and other officials. Sichuan Promotion Association for the Belt and Road Initiative has achieved co-operation with the China Communications Construction Company for building the Port City and jointly promoting the construction of the South Asia headquarters in Sri Lanka.

As a culmination of this, a business delegation consisting of prominent businessmen and professionals from the Sichuan province of China and Beijing are currently on a business trip to Sri Lanka. The 32 member delegation is led by Lin Zhongqing. The delegation arrived in Colombo on 7 April. As per Ceylon Institute of Builders Vice President Ruwan De Silva, “the business trip by the Sichuan Promotion Association will last for one week. The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is scheduled to meet with the delegation on investment, infrastructure, international industrial park, mining, construction, education, hotel, medical treatment, catering, tourism and international trade. We will call on relevant Government ministers, mayors, parliamentarians etc., and will have “one to one” meetings with the heads of local large enterprises, communicate with local associations and experts, and work together to achieve pragmatic results and boost the construction of ‘the Belt and Road’”.

The delegation visited Hambantota on 8 April where they met the Mayor of Hambantota and inspected the Hambantota Port project and the Industrial Park covering an area of 1000 acres.  They also met well-known enterprises and associations there. They then proceeded to Galle to inspect potential projects and meet prominent local entrepreneurs. They met the Mayor of Kotte on 10 April and inspected the Vocational College building he had agreed to provide for holding a symposium. They also had extensive discussion with the Mayor about other development projects that can be carried out in the Kotte Municipal Council limits. On the same day, they visited P1F Medical Company to inspect and discuss related projects, explore industrial funds and sign a memorandum of co-operation with them. Thereafter, the delegation visited and inspected Sri Lanka’s mineral resources and met with relevant enterprises from the mining industry. On 11 April they visited the Colombo Port City to inspect the progress of the Port City project and had a meeting with the officials of the Chinese port project. From there, they proceeded to the proposed office building where the Sri Lanka office of the Sichuan Promotion Association will be housed and finalised relevant work matters related to this.       

On 12 April, Ruwan De Silva, also Chairman of one of the largest local construction companies, will co-ordinate the meetings with several minsters and discuss new potential projects in the relevant fields.  

The delegation is also scheduled to visit the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at his office. On 13 April the delegation will visit the President of the Bank of China Branch in Sri Lanka to discuss business and investment opportunities. They will also visit the Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka. The delegation will return to Chengdu on 13 April evening.

Commenting on the importance of their visit to Sri Lanka, Zhongqing stated the following:

The western metropolitan region of Sri Lanka contributes 42% of the country’s GDP. Colombo is the core city of the region, ranking third in the most liveable cities in South Asia. From 2009 to 2016, the annual growth rate of tourists has been 25%. It is estimated that 4.5 million tourists will enter the country by 2020. The population of the country is estimated to be 25,000,000, and the port city investment is currently valued at $15 billion dollars. It is the largest investment by China in South Asia. Located on the western shore of Sri Lanka, Colombo is Sri Lanka’s largest city and commercial centre, as well as Sri Lanka’s gateway city. Colombo has one of the world’s famous ports, known as the Oriental Crossroads.

Colombo has a total population of 2.31 million, of which 555,000 are Permanent Residents. Its economic activities includes the Greater Western Province region, with a population of 5.8 million, accounting for 25% of the total population and 42% of the national GDP.

Colombo ranks first in South Asia according to MERCER’s global quality of life ranking in 2018.

Sri Lanka not only has beautiful natural and cultural scenery, but also an important partner in the development of ‘the Belt and Road’ initiative. Sri Lanka has many investment advantages, such as geographic location, policy support, industry complementarity, transit trade, low cost of enterprises, etc. Especially its free trade zone, preferential policies for industrial parks, tariff-free transit trade supplements South Asia, Europe, the United States and other regions, which is conducive to the construction of regional hub and transit-oriented multi-industry and product overseas base by Chinese private enterprises through investment and trade cooperation with Sri Lanka.