Sri Lankan Prime Minister Gunawardena to visit China

BEIJING: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena will pay a six-day visit to China starting from March 25 during which the two countries will strive for new progress in the strategic cooperative partnership, it was announced on Friday.

During his visit, Gunawardena will be meeting President Xi Jinping and hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing here.

Lin said China attaches “great importance” to its relations with Sri Lanka and seeks to enhance cooperation in various fields, including high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and strive for new progress in the strategic cooperative partnership.

This will be the first visit by a Sri Lankan leader to Beijing after Colombo put a moratorium on recurring visits by Chinese research ships to Hambantota port reportedly due to India’s security concerns.

Colombo’s move had drawn angry reactions from Beijing.

On Wednesday, however, Sri Lanka said it will allow foreign offshore research ships for replenishments at its ports despite a one-year ban on such vessels.

Gunawardena’s visit also comes days after the International Monetary Fund reached a staff-level agreement with Sri Lanka for the next phase that would enable it access to USD 337 million from the nearly USD 3 billion bailout approved in 2023 for the cash-strapped country.

In 2022, Sri Lanka had announced a default on over USD 51 foreign loans. According to Sri Lanka’s official data, China tops the list of its creditors with 43 per cent followed by Japan with 23 per cent and India with 15 per cent.