Stronger Sri Lanka-China ties pledged by President

Sri Lanka’s Government is committed to further strengthening the long-standing and historic friendship between Sri Lanka and China, President Maithripala Sirisena said this week as the two countries work on increasing investment to foster stronger growth. 

Speaking at a ceremony held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) to mark the 67th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China as well as the 35th anniversary of the Sri Lanka China Society, the President said the friendship between the two countries has been strengthened and reached great heights in the fields of development and investment, as well as in various international fora. China as a friendly state stood up for Sri Lanka at all times in the past as well as at present, he was quoted as saying by the President’s Media Unit in a statement.

Sirisena expressed his appreciation over the assistance given by the Government of China in all fields, including education, health and infrastructure development. He also recalled with gratitude the warm and respectful welcome he received during his first official visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, after being elected as President last year.

The President further said that the most valuable gift received from China is the Hospital for Kidney patients as per the request made by him during his official visit to China and promised the construction of the hospital would be completed expeditiously.

Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang also participated in the event. Yi had earlier told reporters that China is ready to investment $5 b in Sri Lanka, mostly through private investment, provided Government plans such as dedicated investment zones are approved and implemented. Both sides have restored warm relations after a lull in early 2015 when the Chinese backed $1.5 b Port City was suspended. Since then the Port City is back on track and Sri Lanka is discussing the possibility of debt-equity swaps with China for large scale loss-making infrastructure investments made with Chinese loans during the tenure of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.