Sri Lanka, China enter significant five-year period, and at a new turning point: Ambassador

By Kelum Bandara

Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong said both China and Sri Lanka are entering significant five-year periods and at a new turning point, which heralds greater opportunities for cooperation.

Addressing a group of journalists recently, he said a new milestone was reached as the Communist Party of China held the Third Plenary Session of its 20th Central Committee, which comprehensively deployed reforms in various fields and aspects with the economic system reform as the traction and put forward more than 300 important reforms, laying out a grand blueprint and systematic plans for further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernisation.

He said the next five years will be significant for China, as the session has explicitly requested that “The reform tasks laid out in this resolution shall be completed by the time China celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2029”.

“Sri Lanka is also entering a pivotal five-year period, with the Presidential Election scheduled for this year. Both countries are at a new starting point, which heralds greater opportunities for cooperation,” he said.

“Despite global turmoil and economic uncertainty, China has continued to maintain a robust development momentum with a strong strategic focus. By undergoing tremendous changes, China has become the world’s second-largest economy and an important engine of global development with its contribution to world economic growth at around 30 per cent over the years. China’s GDP for the first half of 2024 is approximately $8.57 trillion, while its total goods trade import and export value for the first eight months of this year reached $3.97 trillion. Therefore, we have every reason to be optimistic about the strong resilience, vast potential, and positive development prospects of China’s economy.

The success of China is nothing short of a miracle and its remarkable achievements across various sectors have garnered global recognition. For instance, China has built the world’s largest and full-fledged industrial chain of the new energy sector and provided the world’s 70 per cent of PV components and 60 per cent of wind power equipment. BYD, China’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer, has surpassed Tesla as the top-selling EV producer. Chin’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe successfully collected lunar soil and rock samples from the far side of the Moon, making China the first country to obtain samples from this previously unexplored region. Additionally, China is planning an ambitious Mars sample-return mission before 2028. China has the world’s largest high-speed rail network, which has grown to nearly 46,000 kilometres, with its operating mileage soon to exceed 20,000 kilometres, accounting for over 60% of the world’s total high-speed rail mileage. Emerging fields such as AI, big data and cloud computing are also thriving in China.

All these achievements can be attributed to the reform and opening up launched in 1978. Thanks to this correct and crucial step, China managed to catch up with the trend of the times quickly with great strides. Since then, China has undertaken many other crucial steps. In 2001, China joined the World Trade Organisation. In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2020, China achieved the goal of eradicating absolute poverty.

According to the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernisation adopted at the session, the overall objectives of further deepening reform comprehensively are to continue improving and developing the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and modernise China’s system and capacity for governance. To realize the reform tasks, we will focus on achieving the following objectives: building a high-standard socialist market economy, advancing whole-process people’s democracy, developing a strong socialist culture in China, improving the people’s quality of life, building a Beautiful China, advancing the Peaceful China Initiative to a higher level, and improving the Part’s capacity for leadership and long-term governance.

China and Sri Lanka enjoy a very close economic relationship and have broad prospects for cooperation, which is evident to all. China is Sri Lanka’s second-largest trade partner, the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI), and the third-largest source of tourists for Sri Lanka. Throughout history, our multi-dimensional cooperation has played a significant role in promoting Sri Lanka’s development and benefiting its people. Flagship projects such as Port City Colombo and Hambantota Port are progressing steadily. Landmarks and other key projects like the BMICH, the Nelum Pokuna, the Lotus Tower, the Superior Courts Complex, the National Nephrology Specialised Hospital, the Outpatient Building of the National Hospital, as well as many expressways and power stations, stand as testaments of our rock-solid friendship and the enduring spirit of the Rubber-Rice Pact.