China congratulates MR; assures continued support

The Government of China expressing “heartfelt congratulations” to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his party Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) for winning Wednesday’s Parliamentary Election, has assured its support to elevate the bilateral relations with greater development.

Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka Chargé d’Affaires Hu Wei met with Prime Minister Mahinda Saturday evening at the Temple Trees and passed on a congratulatory letter from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to the Prime Minister, expressing heartfelt congratulations to the SLPP for winning the General Election, the Chinese Embassy in Colombo said.

“As China-Sri Lanka relations are presented with important new opportunities for further advancement, the CPC stands ready to deepen exchanges and cooperation with the SLPP to build a new type of party-to-party relations that seeks to expand common ground while reserving differences and enhances mutual respect and mutual learning, in a joint endeavour to elevate our bilateral relations to a higher level with greater development,” the letter has said.

The two sides also exchanged in-depth views on the key areas of cooperation between the two countries in the next stage, as well as the key projects of the “Belt and Road” between China and Sri Lanka, such as the Port City of Colombo and the comprehensive development of Hambantota, the Embassy disclosed.

Prime Minister Rajapaksa has requested that the work on the Port City be expedited and to consider collaborating on drinking water and irrigation projects, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Media Division.

The Chinese envoy offering Beijing’s sincere congratulations to the PM and his party, has remarked that his Government must be the “strongest government in history” of Sri Lanka.

Describing Prime Minister Rajapaksa as an “old friend” of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Ambassador Wei has assured the PM to “have confidence in our support”.

The Premier later in a Twitter message thanked President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party for the well wishes, and noted that China’s support for Sri Lanka’s development spans decades.

“I’m certain that our long-standing, friendly relations will continue to improve as we enhance our cooperation,” the Prime Minister said.