Beijing: President Xi Jinping has greeted his new Sri Lankan counterpart Maithripala Sirisena, saying China wants to take the ties to a new high amid anxieties here that the big clout acquired by China under the previous regime may wear thin in the new political dispensation.
In his congratulatory message, Xi who visited Sri Lanka last year, becoming the first Chinese head of state to go to Colombo in three decades, pledged to promote the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries under Sirisena leadership.
Besides being traditional friendly neighbours, Xi noted in his message that relations have withstood the “test of time”, a gentle reminder about the heights the relations touched under previous President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, under whose decade-old regime Sri Lanka became China’s closest ally next only to Pakistan.
Attaching great importance to the development of relations with Sri Lanka, I am willing to make concerted efforts with the Sri Lankan side to keep lifting the China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership to higher levels,” Xi said.
The defeat is not because of the close relationship between Sri Lanka and China,” but because of internal political issues Hu Shisheng, Director, South Asia and Southeast Asian Studies, Chinese Institute for Contemporary International Relations said.
“Sri Lanka’s dream of being an Indian Ocean Hub, acting as Singapore in Indian Ocean, could be much better served if coordinating its development strategy with China initiated Silk Road Planning,” he said.
Sri Lanka’s development is in badly needed of capital, skills and infrastructure construction capacities, “where China enjoys incomparable strength,” Hu said citing construction of Colombo and Hambanthota Ports.
“Therefore I don’t think Sri Lanka would let the strategic opportunities to go away. Sri Lanka had lost nearly 30 years’ glory as an Indian Ocean hub due to the civil war,” he said.
Bureau Report
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