Deadlock broken on port project(2)

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) holds a welcoming ceremony for Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena before their talks in Beijing, capital of China, March 26, 2015. (Photo/Xinhua)

Xi also promised to speed up talks on a free trade agreement with Sri Lanka to lower tariffs, and to deepen economic exchanges, especially on health, agriculture, science and technology, tourism and talent training.

Liu Xiaoxue, a researcher of South Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Sri Lanka is an important partner in building Beijing's initiative for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

It is located at a key section on the route linking the resource-rich Gulf of Aden with China's booming coastal cities. Hower, Sri Lanka needs support to rebuild its infrastructure after its civil war, Liu said.

"The port project, like many other Chinese investments in the country, is a commercial deal, which means conflicts over the project should be solved through talks," she said.

Meanwhile, China and Indonesia issued a joint declaration on deepening ties and signed eight agreements in Beijing on Thursday.

They signed one memorandum of understanding on greater cooperation in infrastructure and industry, and another on building a high-speed railway linking the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and Bandung, about 180 km southeast of Jakarta. Others cover wide-ranging areas, including maritime searches, taxation, airspace and cooperation between Chinese and Indonesian enterprises.

Xi told his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo before they witnessed the signings that China is willing to use the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Silk Road Fund to take part in Indonesia's development of ports, high-speed railways, airports, shipbuilding and special economic zones in coastal areas.

Widodo, making his first state visit to China since taking office in October, said Indonesia welcomes Chinese State-owned and private enterprises to its infrastructure sector and in constructing special economic zones.