SLwill overcome challenges under new leadership with help from China, other countries - Chinese envoy

• Says Sri Lanka, as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean”, will shine brighter

Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong expressed optimism that Sri Lanka, under the leadership of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and with help from China and other countries, would overcome all sorts of risks and challenges and fully recover from the current crisis, and revive the national economy to achieve prosperity.

Delivering remarks at the reception in celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of China, he said Sri Lanka, as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean”, will shine brighter.  

“The China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership based on sincere mutual assistance and ever-lasting friendship will continue to gain great momentum on a higher level,” he said.   

“The past 75 years have been a fruitful journey for China by braving wind and rain. Since its founding in 1949, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Chinese nation has achieved the great transformation from standing upright to becoming prosperous and growing in strength. Now the Chinese people are making confident strides on the new path for building a great modern socialist country in all respects and are pursuing national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.  

The fundamental reason for China’s remarkable leapfrog development is the leadership of the Communist Party of China, which has guided the Chinese people in embarking on the great journey of reform and opening up. This historic decision, made at the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee 46 years ago in 1978, marked China’s entry into a new era of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization. This year, the 20th CPC Central Committee successfully convened its Third Plenary Session in July and adopted the new programmatic document for reform and opening-up, which is the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization. The Resolution set the overall objectives to continue improving and developing the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and modernize China’s system and capacity for governance. It also laid out more than 300 major reforms which shall be completed by the 80th founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China in 2029,” he added.