Political Lens

China, Sri Lanka agree to foster practical cooperation

Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji met separately with visiting Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Thursday in Beijing.

Li told Dissanayake that China is willing to work with Sri Lanka to promote the development of the Port City Colombo and Hambantota Port projects, expand exchanges and cooperation in areas such as trade, the economy and agriculture, and constantly bring forward their strategic cooperative partnership.

China will also deepen political mutual trust, better align development strategies, and advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation with the South Asian country, Li said.

Dissanayake reiterated Sri Lanka's strong commitment to its relationship with China and its steadfast adherence to the one-China principle. Sri Lanka is willing to strengthen practical cooperation across various sectors with China and enhance multilateral collaboration to write a new chapter in Sri Lanka-China relations, he said.

During their meeting, Zhao, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, told Dissanayake that the NPC is willing to continue to deepen exchanges between the two countries' legislatures at all levels, and contribute to each other's national development and bilateral practical cooperation.