Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, right, shakes hands with Chinese special envoy Liu Zhenmin, in Colombo.

IANS
Colombo

Sri Lanka will continue to pursue a friendly policy towards China and promote all kinds of co-operation between the two countries, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has said.
In a meeting with visiting Chinese envoy and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin, Sirisena said his country was willing to make joint efforts with China to further strengthen friendly relations and also advance with the suspended mega China-funded port city project, Xinhua news agency reported.
The $1.4bn Colombo Port City Project, funded by the China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC), was suspended by Sirisena’s government in March after concerns were raised over some aspects of the project. The project began construction in September last year.
Liu said despite changes - both in regional and international situation and the political situation in Sri Lanka, China will adhere to the friendly policy between the two countries.
He hoped that Sri Lanka will make joint efforts with China for the development of bilateral relations.
Sri Lanka should see the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, proposed by China, as an opportunity to promote cooperation and lift the ties between the two nations to a new high, Liu added.
The Sirisena administration has made it clear that it will not follow the last government’s China-centric policies and avoid the over-dependence on Chinese investments, which it associates with Mahinda Rajapakse’s graft-tainted rule. But it also realises the importance of Chinese investments and is trying to reconcile poll-time rhetoric with economic realities.
In more signs that efforts are on to put Colombo Port City back on track, cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said the cabinet had agreed to appoint a fresh committee to address the issues surrounding the project so that it can continue.
“Chinese companies have been losing heavily because of the delay,” said Liu. As the single-biggest foreign direct investment into Sri Lanka ever, the project is important to maintain foreign investors’ confidence, he said.
Asked if China was considering fresh investments in the strategically important Indian Ocean country, he said the two sides were in talks about “increasing development cooperation”, but pointedly emphasised that “old projects have to be completed first before turning to new ones”.
Liu is the first Chinese special envoy for Sri Lanka since the parliamentary elections in August reinstated a national unity government headed by Prime Minister Ranil
Wickremesinghe.
His trip, coinciding with Wickremesinghe’s return from a visit to Japan, is also a bid by China to familiarise itself with the new prime minister.