On the evening of March 29, President Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation with Sri Lankan President Gotabaya.

Xi Jinping pointed out that after the outbreak of the Corona Virus, China and Sri Lanka have worked together and helped each other, writing a new chapter in the friendship between the two countries.  China attaches great importance to the development of China-Sri Lanka relations and is willing to work with Sri Lanka to jointly plan the strategic direction of bilateral relations and promote the steady progress of China-Sri Lanka relations.  China will continue to provide assistance within its capacity to Sri Lanka’s fight against the Pandemic, explore the gradual development of cooperation in fighting the virus and education under the conditions of good Pandemic prevention and control, and continue to explore new ways and areas of cooperation.  China is willing to work with Sri Lanka to steadily promote key projects such as Colombo Port City and Hambantota Port, and promote high-quality joint construction of the “Belt and Road Initiative”, so as to provide a strong impetus for Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and sustainable development after the Pandamic.

Xi Jinping emphasized that China and Sri Lanka are strategic partners with sincere mutual assistance and friendship for generations.  China will not forget Sri Lanka’s valuable support on the issue of China’s restoration of its legal seat in the United Nations. It is willing to continue to firmly support each other on issues involving each other’s core interests, safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, promote international fairness and justice, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

President Gotabaya expressed that Sri Lanka warmly congratulated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and highly appreciated the historic achievements of the Communist Party of China.  Especially under the strong leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has made great achievements in economic development and the fight against the new COVID Pandamic.  Sri Lanka appreciates China’s valuable support for Sri Lanka, and is willing to work closely with China to firmly support each other’s positions on issues of core interests and safeguard the common interests of both sides.  The Sri Lankan side hopes to learn from the experience of the Communist Party of China in governance, especially to strengthen exchanges and cooperation on poverty alleviation and rural revitalization strategies.  Sri Lanka is willing to expand cooperation with China in such areas as infrastructure and tourism, and smoothly advance the construction of key projects such as the Port of Colombo. It is believed that this will help Sri Lanka’s economic and social development and benefit the Sri Lankan people more.