Li urges Sri Lanka to offer sound legal environment for Chinese investment

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 27, 2015. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera in Beijing on Friday, and urged the country to offer a sound legal environment for Chinese investment.

Li said China valued its ties with Sri Lanka, and respected the Sri Lankan people's choice of a development path that fits in its reality.

"We are willing to strengthen political trust with Sri Lanka, enhance high-level exchange and substantial cooperation, safeguard common interests, and promote the healthy and smooth development of our strategic cooperative partnership," he said.

The premier said China would integrate its development strategy with its neighbors, and jointly build a community of common development and shared interests.

Samaraweera said the new government of Sri Lanka looked forward to working with China to deepen ties and upgrade cooperation.

Both of Sri Lanka's political parties, the Freedom Party and the United National Party, had friendly China policies, he said.

Sri Lanka welcomed more Chinese investment, he said, vowing to improve convenience and create a better environment.

Samaraweera will be in Beijing until Saturday. He is the first Sri Lankan minister to visit China since Sri Lanka's new administration took office last month.