Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi yesterday called upon his Sri Lankan counterpart Vijitha Herath to expedite the finalisation of the China-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Minister Yi was speaking during a bilateral meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the two sides vowed to deepen their strategic cooperative partnership and enhance practical cooperation.
A China-Sri Lanka FTA, which has been under discussion for some time, is likely to boost two-way trade and also address the imbalance in the trade figures.
Minister Yi also called on both sides to deepen high-quality Belt and Road (BRI) cooperation, jointly implement the two flagship projects – the Colombo Port City and the Hambantota Port, and create new growth points for cooperation in fields such as Green Energy, Digital Economy, modern agriculture and maritime (Blue) economy.
Talking specifically on cooperation in the maritime domain, Minister Yi said such cooperation is mutually beneficial, adding that it does not target any third party and should not be interfered with by any third party. The Chinese Foreign Minister said the so-called “Indo-Pacific Strategy” pursued by certain parties provokes confrontation and coerces all parties to take sides, which is not in line with the trend of the times and will not be supported by regional countries.
Wang said China is ready to work with Sri Lanka to push the development of the strategic cooperative partnership featuring mutual assistance and ever-lasting friendship between the two countries. Minister Herath said Sri Lanka attaches great importance to its relations with China, and firmly adheres to the “One China” principle. Minister Herath said that bilateral cooperation has brought tangible benefits to Sri Lankans and promoted the development and connectivity of the region. Sri Lanka will enhance practical cooperation with China in areas including trade and investment, infrastructure and ocean, and further deepen the two countries’ strategic cooperative partnership in a number of sectors.
