{"id":109028,"date":"2020-11-25T16:35:35","date_gmt":"2020-11-25T23:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=109028"},"modified":"2020-11-25T16:35:35","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T23:35:35","slug":"the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c7a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/11\/25\/the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c7a\/","title":{"rendered":"THE POHOTTUWA GOVERNMENT OF SRI LANKA Part 2 C7a"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

China has   stepped up its diplomatic relations with Sri\nLanka after Pohottu government came in.  A\nvery experienced Chinese diplomat Qi Zhenhong \n arrived in November 2020 as ambassador\nto Sri Lanka. Qi Zhenhong was head of China Institute of International Studies,\na premier international relations think tank in China. He has an excellent\nunderstanding of the complex realities in the Indian Ocean, said analysts.     He\ncomes here at a time when the actions of USA, India and several other countries\nare rapidly militarizing the Indian Ocean and is applying pressure on smaller\nnations to join them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were\nthree important meetings between Sri Lanka and China in the months of October\nand November, 2020, ChinesePresident\nXi Jinping spoke with Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa via Zoom in November\n2020. The two leaders shared their experience on administrative matters. Speaker\nMahinda Yapa Abeywardane, Prof.G.L. Peiris, Namal Rajapaksa, Sagara Kariyawasam\nand several Provincial Councillers   also\nparticipated in the discussion that followed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A highlevel Chinese delegation, led by\nChinese leader Yang Jiechi, visited Sri Lanka in October 2020. They were on a\ntour which included UAE, Algeria and Serbia. Sri Lanka was their first\ndestination. This was a very significant visit. The delegation met President\nGotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese delegation comprised seven members.  Its leader Yang Jiechi holds a position\nequivalent to Vice Premier. Yang Jiechi\nwas Chinese Foreign Minister from 2007-2013 and China\u2019s Ambassador to US from\n2001 to 2005.  He is presently a member\nof the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party and the director of its Central\nCommittee\u2019s Foreign Affairs Commission, a top policy-making body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also in the delegation were China International Development\nCooperation Agency chairman Wang Xiaotao, Assistant Foreign Minister Deng Lee\nand the Foreign Ministry\u2019s Asian Affairs Deputy Director General Chen Song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leader of the delegation said that the present status of\nbilateral relations between China and Sri Lanka was highly satisfactory.\nMaintaining and promoting this friendship is a key priority of President Xi\nJingping. China wanted to maintain\nhigh-level exchanges and consolidate political mutual trust. President Xi Jinping considered further improvement\nof China-Sri Lanka relations a priority. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ndelegation   recalled past history.\nChina\u2013Sri Lanka relations have stood the test of time, they said. What\ncontinued from the ancient spiritual ties since the visits of Chinese Buddhist\nmonks centuries ago, received a big boost when the Rubber-Rice deal was signed\nin 1952, even before the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two\nnewly emerged independent countries. The Ceylon\u2013China Trade Agreement of 1952\nwas undoubtedly the most useful trade agreement negotiated by Sri Lanka and one\nof the most successful and durable trade agreements in the world, having been\nin operation for 30 years, the delegation said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nhead of the delegation said that China will firmly stand with Sri Lanka to protect\nthe country\u2019s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity at\ninternational fora including the United Nations Human Rights Council. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will\nsupport not from words but by action,\u201d said Jiechi. Sri Lanka would shortly\nsign an agreement with China to obtain a US $ 500 million concessionary loan\nfrom her. China also announced a US$ 90 million grant to Sri Lanka, for medical\ncare, education and water supplies in Sri Lanka\u2019s rural areas. Thirdly, the Chinese ambassador met Ajith\nNivard Cabraal, State Minister of Money & Capital Markets and Professor W.\nD. Lakshman, Governor of the Central Bank to discuss financial instruments to\nbe implemented after the Yang Jiechi visit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communist\nParty of China (CPC) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) held an\nadvanced seminar on governance via video in November 2020.  This was a follow up to the meeting between\nthe two heads of State and the Yang Jiechi visit. The discussion centered on aligning the Belt\nand Road Initiative with Sri Lanka\u2019s Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minister Song\nTao of the International Department of Central Committee of CPC, Party\nSecretary Liu Cigui of CPC Provincial Committee of Hainan Province, and Qi\nZhenhong spoke for China. Prof. G.L.Peiris, Sagara Kariyawasam, Mahinda Yapa\nAbeywardena, Namal Rajapaksa, Ramesh Pathirana and some State Ministers and\nMayors from the Western Province spoke for Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The China-Sri\nLanka Belt and Road Political Parties Joint Consultation Mechanism\u201d was\nestablished in June 2020 between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and main\npolitical parties of Sri Lanka .The first meeting of the Mechanism,  was \nheld via video link.   United\nNational Party, Sri Lanka Freedom Party, and People\u2019s United Front of Sri\nLanka   participated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Song Tao,\nMinister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee,\naddressed the event. He said China was\nready to work with Sri Lankan political parties to strengthen the exchange of\nexperience in state governance, promote bilateral cooperation in all areas and\ncontribute to the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. The meeting also\napproved a joint initiative of the political parties of China and Sri Lanka to\nsupport Belt and Road cooperation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts\nobserved that CPC has established contacts and exchanges with more than 400\npolitical parties and organizations in over 140 countries. CPC maintains\nfriendly relations with a dozen political parties in Sri Lanka both in the\ngovernment and the opposition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November\n2020, the  China Reform Forum which is\naffiliated to the Communist party of China signed an MOU with China-Sri Lanka Cooperation\nstudies Centre at Pathfinder Foundation.  CRF has dialogues with more than   30 countries.  CRF uses these dialogues  to briefs China on its foreign policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka had\na successful presentation at the Third China International Import Expo (CIIE)\nheld in Shanghai from November 5-10, 2020. The Sri Lanka Embassy in China and\nConsulate General in Shanghai in coordination with Sri Lanka Export Development\nBoard (EDB) and the Foreign Ministry teamed up with seven Sri Lanka companies\nto showcase tea, coconut products, and spices including Ceylon cinnamon, herbal\nproducts, rubber products and confectioneries at this event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-Seven\nSri Lanka companies took part in business matchmaking meetings online. An MoU to\ncreate an online Sri Lanka Pavilion in Womai.com online platform was signed\nbetween the EDB and the China Oil and Foodstuffs Company (COFCO). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s Prestige\nInternational Company Ltd would promote Sri Lankan products on its JD.Com\nplatform. JD.com is the most popular online platform in China and one of the\n500 fortune companies. It is China\u2019s largest online retailer and also the\nbiggest overall retailer. It is the country\u2019s biggest internet company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three\nstrategic cooperation agreements were signed between the Prestige International\nLtd. and Silver Mills SL Ltd., Stuarts Tea Sri Lanka Ltd. and Saraketha Organic\nLtd. These agreements are expected to generate 5.5 million of RMB trade between\nthe parties in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November\n2020, the Sri Lanka-China Buddhist Friendship Association (SLCBFA), with\nfinancial assistance from the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka, commenced a\nprogramme to donate dry rations and hand sanitizers to Buddhist temples in Sri\nLanka, to overcome Covid 19. They started with Sri Wijayalokaramaya Temple in\nRukmalgama, Pannipitiya. (Continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS China has   stepped up its diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka after Pohottu government came in.  A very experienced Chinese diplomat Qi Zhenhong   arrived in November 2020 as ambassador to Sri Lanka. Qi Zhenhong was head of China Institute of International Studies, a premier international relations think tank in China. He has an excellent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109028\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}