Colombo forum highlights RMB's role in facilitating China-Sri Lanka trade, cooperation

Representatives from China and Sri Lanka's political, financial, and commercial sectors have underscored the RMB's greater role in boosting bilateral financial and trade cooperation at a forum held on Wednesday in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The RMB Forum Sri Lanka 2025, co-hosted by the Colombo branch of the Bank of China and Sri Lanka's Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, focused on cross-border RMB settlement, financial cooperation, and facilitation of trade and investment. Nearly 300 participants attended it.

Addressing the forum, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong said that promoting RMB settlement will assist Sri Lanka in diversifying the structure of foreign exchange reserves, reducing exchange rate risks, and providing more stable and low-cost settlement channels, thus injecting fresh impetus into the country's economic revival and structural reform.

P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, underscored the benefits of establishing direct RMB settlement mechanisms. He noted that it will significantly reduce transaction costs, minimize exposure to exchange rate fluctuations, and provide businesses with financial services that are more stable and efficient.

Participants of the forum also expressed hopes that the two countries will expand the scale of local currency settlement and promote bilateral financial connectivity, to provide more stable financial support for economic and trade exchanges between the two countries.