Communist Party of China brings Silk Road Link platform to Sri Lanka

This year marks the beginning of the second golden decade of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. From 16 to 18 December, the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) brought its Silk Road Link platform to Sri Lanka for the first time, collaborating with the ruling party JVP, friendly organisations, and others to host multiple “Lighting Up the Countryside” public welfare events. These activities aim to enhance people-to-people connectivity and support the high-quality BRI cooperation between China and Sri Lanka.

Small agricultural equipment donation for Lighting Up the Countryside

On the morning of 16 December, the Silk Road Link group held a small agricultural equipment donation event in Thambuttegama village, Anuradhapura District, in the North Central Province. Together with Sri Lankan Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe, donated more than 130 electric and manual pesticide sprayers to the local community. Chinese vocational school experts were present to demonstrate the operation of the equipment and expressed their willingness to help train technical professionals needed for agricultural and rural development.

Public welfare donation for Lighting Up the Countryside

On the morning of 17 December, the Silk Road Link group held two public welfare donation events in Kaduwela village in Colombo District and Biyagama village in Gampaha District. They distributed food packages containing essential daily items such as rice, flour, and oil to 1,950 households severely affected by recent floods.

 “Silk Road Empowerment” vocational education matchmaking conference

On the morning of 18 December, the Silk Road Link group, in cooperation with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s Office, hosted the Silk Road Empowerment vocational education matchmaking conference based on the Silk Road Village-to-Village connectivity project (SRV2V). Representatives from Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Presidential Secretariat, Vocational Education Commission, and UNESCO’s International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (South Asia Office), along with Chinese experts from Chongqing Three Gorges Vocational College, Beijing Industry Technician College, Sri Lanka’s Vocational Technical University, and the University of Colombo, attended the event. They discussed topics including curriculum development, teacher training, and student exchanges. Chongqing Three Gorges Vocational College offered scholarships for Sri Lankan students to study in China.

In 2023, during the opening ceremony of the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, President Xi Jinping announced eight major steps to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and one of them is to promote international vocational education cooperation. On 2 December 2024, President Xi further emphasised improving the coordination mechanisms of “hard connectivity” (infrastructure connectivity), “soft connectivity” (policy connectivity), and “heart connectivity” (people-to-people connectivity) at the Fourth Symposium on Belt and Road Cooperation, with the aim of ensuring the steady and high-quality development of the BRI. The series of public welfare activities by the Silk Road Link in Sri Lanka is in line with Xi’s vision for Small Yet Smart public welfare projects in BRI countries, helping to build bridges of people-to-people connection and advancing the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Sri Lanka, as well as supporting Sri Lanka’s vision to realise “A Thriving Nation, A Beautiful Life.”

The International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is responsible for the Party’s foreign affairs work. Leaders of many South Asian and Southeast Asian political parties have expressed a wish to use party-to-party channels to carry out more practical and people-benefiting cooperation projects. To support this, the International Department’s Bureau 1 set up the Silk Road Link platform for practical cooperation and people-to-people exchange with South and Southeast Asian countries. There are five projects under the platform, the Silk Road Embarkment, the Silk Road Empowerment, the Silk Road Enlightenment, the Silk Road Enjoyment and the Silk Road Enhancement. This platform coordinates resources from Chinese local governments, educational institutions, businesses, and organisations to carry out activities such as technical skill training, convenience services, study abroad and short-term exchanges, business cooperation, and cultural exchanges. Silk Road Link contributes to deepening the friendship between the CPC and the political parties of these regional countries, and promoting friendly ties and mutual understanding between the peoples.