Sri Lanka PM's China visit will further boost bilateral ties

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's visit to China will inject new impetus into the development of China- Sri Lanka ties, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Yi Xianliang has said.

Wickremesinghe left for an official visit to China on Wednesday, his first visit as prime minister to China since the government of President Maithripala Sirisena was formed in January last year.

The Chinese ambassador said in a recent interview with Xinhua that "China has maintained good relations with the Sri Lankan government, political parties and people, despite changes in the international situation."

He said the two countries have witnessed enhanced communication and cooperation in various fields such as religion, culture, education, science and technology.

In the interview, Yi expressed China's willingness to jointly build the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road with Sri Lanka and link the two countries' development strategies so as to promote common development and win-win results.

Yi said China will continue to encourage Chinese companies to invest in Sri Lanka and welcome Sri Lankan entrepreneurs to do business in China. He said in 2015 bilateral trade continued to grow steadily, amounting to 4.56 billion U.S. dollars.

With the Sri Lankan prime minister's visit to China, "China and Sri Lanka will surely embrace a more beautiful spring," said the Chinese ambassador.