BEIJING: Chinese leader Xi Jinping said relations between China and Sri Lanka faced a “historical opportunity” to foster ties, in talks with the island nation’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Wednesday.
“China-Sri Lanka relations face a historical opportunity to build on the past and forge ahead,” Xi told Dissanayake during the bilateral meeting in Beijing, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The two sides should see ties from “a strategic perspective and build a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future.”
Leftist Dissanayake’s visit to China comes after he was given a red-carpet welcome to India by President Narendra Modi during his first overseas trip as premier in December.
Dissanayake came to power in September and consolidated his power after his party won a landslide in snap parliamentary polls in November.
China and India are meanwhile competing for influence in the Indian Ocean region.
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