China, Sri Lanka agree to deepen partnership

Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa agreed Tuesday to strengthen the two countries' strategic cooperative partnership, and announced the launch of the negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA).

At their meeting, the two heads of state also vowed to jointly work out a blueprint for the further development of bilateral cooperation and friendship.

Xi stressed China will stick to the path of peaceful development and uphold the guidelines of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in its neighborhood diplomacy.

China and Sri Lanka are friends and partners of mutual trust and interdependence, he said, adding that bilateral relations have withstood the test of time and the volatility of the international situation, and become a model of friendly coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation between countries of different sizes.

China firmly supports Sri Lanka's efforts to safeguard its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the Sri Lankan people's choice of development path according to its national conditions, Xi said.

Currently the Chinese people are making all efforts to realize the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation, while Sri Lanka is pursuing the "Mahinda Vision", which envisages ambitious economic growth through the scaling-up of investment and increased productivity, Xi noted.

He stressed that China is ready to work with Sri Lanka to seize such opportunities to make a good planning for bilateral cooperation and enhance the strategic cooperative partnership, which is in the fundamental interest of the two peoples.

The initiative of building the 21 Century Maritime Silk Road presents many opportunities for China to enhance cooperation with Sri Lanka in such areas as port construction and operation, maritime economy and security, and the construction of a maritime transportation center in the Indian Ocean

The two sides should make joint efforts to implement the pilot projects of reciprocal cooperation and speed up the FTA talks, he added.

Xi said he encourages Chinese companies to get more involved in the construction of Sri Lanka's industrial parks, special economic zones and infrastructure projects. He also said he welcomes Sri Lanka to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member.

The Chinese leader also urged the two sides to expand exchanges and cooperation in tourism, culture, education and religion, and voiced support for Chinese-language education in Sri Lanka.