Beijing (TDI): Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will pay a state visit to China from January 14 to 17, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Friday.
The upcoming visit will be President Dissanayake’s first trip to China after assuming charge, and is of great significance to the development of China-Sri Lanka ties.
During the visit, President Xi Jinping will hold discussions with Dissanayake, and Premier Li Qiang and Chairman Zhao Leji of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress will meet with him respectively, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a media conference on Friday.
China and Sri Lanka have long-standing relations and are close neighbors. Since our two nations established diplomatic relations in 1957, the bilateral relationship has stood the test of the changing global landscape, always maintained sound and steady development, and set up a fine example of friendly ties and mutually beneficial cooperation between nations different in size, Guo said.
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“Beijing is prepared to collaborate with Colombo during the upcoming trip to deepen our long-standing friendship, enhance political mutual trust, and broaden high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, along with practical collaboration in different fields, to achieve continuous progress in our relationship.”
Dissanayake’s first trip to Beijing since taking office offers a key opportunity to strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
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Sri Lanka, strategically located in the Indian Ocean, has become an important partner in the BRI, which has already brought tangible benefits to the country.
