Sri Lankan president to visit China, strengthen ties

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has begun his first visit to China Wednesday and will attend the annual Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), a move to further strengthen relations between the two countries.[Special coverage]

During his four-day visit, Sirisena will participate in the BFA Thursday. The visiting Sri Lankan president will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Leaders of the two countries will exchange views on China-Sri Lanka relations as well as international and regional issues of common interest," Hua Chunying, foreign ministry spokesperson said at a Wednesday briefing.

Analysts said the two sides are also expected to discuss economic issues including free trade and transport infrastructure reinforcement.

Sirisena's China trip came after exchanges of visits between him and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and after he suspended the $1.4 billion Chinese port project off Colombo.

"We believe that the government of Sri Lanka will act in its long-term interests, advance cooperation with China, properly handle relevant issues, keep Chinese companies interested in investing in Sri Lanka and protect their lawful rights and interests," Hua said at the Wednesday briefing.

Hu Zhiyong, an expert at the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and a visiting scholar at Northeastern University, told the Global Times that through the visit, it is very likely that the Sri Lanka would resume suspended work in Colombo in order to attract more investments from China.

"The 'One Belt, One Road' initiatives also include Sri Lanka, making it one of the project's key pivots," Hu added.

Despite India's influence over relations between China and Sri Lanka, China remains one of its biggest trading partners that Sri Lanka would not want to lose, according to Hu.

China has become the country's largest creditor since 2009, with an estimated $5 billion mostly for massive infrastructure investment, according to Xinhua News Agency.