Ali Sabry meets Chinese counterpart Two sides set to expand cooperation on BRI

• Sri Lanka reassures adherence to one-China policy  

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry met his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Beijing yesterday and assured Sri Lanka’s continuous adherence to one - China policy and to build the Belt and Road Initiative.  

 According to a statement from the Chinese authorities, Sri Lanka will intensify multilateral coordination, push for greater development of strong bilateral relations and set a good example for state-to-state relations.   

“Sri Lanka attaches great importance to China’s development opportunities and welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in Sri Lanka,” the statement said.  

The Chinese Minister said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Sri Lanka, the two sides have always respected and supported each other, setting a good example of friendly coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation between large and small countries. China is ready to consolidate and expand its strategic cooperative partnership with Sri Lanka.   

The two sides should implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, intensify high-level exchanges, expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and promote the high-quality joint construction of the “Belt and Road” to achieve more new results.   

China will continue to provide assistance within its capacity for Sri Lanka’s economic and social development and improvement of people’s livelihood.  

Sabry said that China is a great friend and important development partner, and we cherish the selfless assistance of the Chinese government and people for Sri Lanka’s national independence and economic development for a long time and thanked China for its valuable support in dealing with the debt problem and overcoming temporary difficulties.