PTI, Colombo :
China would always respect Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and not allow any “outside interference” in its internal affairs, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday as he met President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Wang Yi met the two leaders separately with both sides pledging to further promote relations between the two countries.
“As Sri Lanka’s strategic partner, China will continue to stand by Sri Lanka’s interests,” the visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister was quoted as saying by Gotabaya’s office.
“China stands for the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. We will not allow any outside influences to interfere with matters that are essentially internal concerns of Sri Lanka,” Wang Yi said.
The president told Wang Yi that Sri Lanka was facing many political challenges and the only way to overcome them is to be economically strong.
“The economic independence will ensure political independence,” Gotabaya said.
The president said Sri Lanka is ready to enhance Sri Lanka-China ties, strengthen bilateral win-win cooperation in various fields and actively promote the joint development of the Belt and Road Initiative to build regional shipping and logistic hubs, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported from Colombo.
The Sri Lankan government fully supports the development of major projects such as the Colombo Port City and the Hambantota Port, Mahinda said, noting that these projects will not only help develop the country’s economy and improve people’s livelihood, but also become a major driving force for the friendly cooperation between the two countries, it said. In his response, Wang Yi said China, as in the past, would be Sri Lanka’s longtime partner in prosperity and growth.
He noted that China’s policy towards Colombo had always been consistent and would continue to be Sri Lanka’s reliable friend.
“China and Sri Lanka are strategic cooperative partners with sincere mutual assistance and ever-lasting friendship built upon a long tradition of friendly exchanges. Recent years has seen fruitful cooperation under the Belt and Road framework.
“China stands ready to work with Sri Lanka’s new administration to carry forward the traditional friendship, strengthen political mutual trust, dovetail development strategies and bring bilateral relations to new heights,” Wang Yi added. President Gotabaya’s postponed first visit to China will take place in February, his office said after the meeting.
In December 2017, Sri Lanka handed over the control of the southern sea port of Hambantota to China on a 99-year lease, triggering concern over Beijing’s efforts to expand influence in the region.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that Sri Lanka is geographically placed in a most strategic location and as a result, the country has to face many political challenges.
He said that the only way to overcome them is to be economically strong and that economic independence will ensure political independence.
Minister Yi, in his response said that China, as it did in the past, would be Sri Lanka’s longtime partner in prosperity and growth. He noted that China’s policy towards Sri Lanka had always been consistent and China would continue to be Sri Lanka’s reliable friend.
The Foreign Minister of China, who was on a brief visit to Sri Lanka, said that after in-depth discussions he had with President Rajapaksa he was confident that already existing strong bilateral relations could be further strengthened.
‘As Sri Lanka’s strategic partner China will continue to standby Sri Lanka’s interests. China stands for the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. We will not allow any outside influences to interfere with matters that are essentially internal concerns of Sri Lanka,’ Minister Yi pledged.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared himself to be a great admirer of Chinese leader Xi Jing Ping when he met the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi yesterday, a Media Release from the Presidential Secretariat said.
Rajapaksa had said he follows President Xi’s his speeches and statements closely and that some of his policies especially on poverty alleviation were incorporated into his own mandate.
In response Minister Yi had congratulated the President on his election and called him “an old friend of China.”
The statement also said that the Sri Lankan President noted that ours “is a small country. Fortunately or not, it is geographically placed in a most strategic location. As a result, the country has to face many political challenges. The only way to overcome them is to be economically strong. Economic independence will ensure political independence.”
