BEIJING // Sri Lanka’s new president held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday amid a push to recalibrate his predecessor’s strongly pro-China policies.
Maithripala Sirisena and Mr Xi reaffirmed longstanding ties between their countries at the start of their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing.
It was Mr Sirisena’s first visit to the China since taking office in January and it follows his recent trip to neighbouring India, Beijing’s rival.
In opening remarks, Mr Xi said China considers Sri Lanka a strategic partner and wants to “again promote and elevate the China-Sri Lanka relationship to fulfill an important purpose”.
“China has always placed Sri Lanka in an important diplomatic position in region,” Mr Xi said.
The two also discussed a US$1.5 billion (Dh5.5bn) China-funded port city project in Colombo which Mr Sirisena’s government suspended pending scrutiny of environment impacts and alleged corruption, said Chinese assistant foreign minister Liu Jianchao. Both sides said they continued to back the project, but any specific changes to it would have to be worked out by the companies involved.
Mr Sirisena’s administration has ordered reviews of all China-funded projects.
Mr Liu said Mr Xi advocated further Chinese investment in Sri Lanka.
The two presided over the signing of agreements on healthcare, construction and urban development.
Mr Sirisena’s surprise election win presented a diplomatic challenge to Beijing as it seeks to expand its political and economic influence in the Indian Ocean region.
China enjoyed close ties with his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa, under whom a raft of Chinese-backed projects sailed through the approval process with few questions.
In contrast, Mr Sirisena wants to balance Sri Lanka’s China ties against those with India and chose New Delhi for his first official visit. This month, prime minister Narendra Modi became the first Indian leader to visit Sri Lanka in 28 years.
The massive Colombo port project has become a particular concern for India, due to recent visits to Sri Lanka by Chinese navy ships and submarines and the possibility that China could own outright part of the artificial land on which the development is to be built.
Asked on Wednesday about the project’s suspension, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China expects Sri Lanka will “keep it in mind its own profound interest, promote the practical cooperation and properly deal with the related project between the two countries.”
* Associated Press
