China says Sri Lanka is a key component of the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road”, with the Hambantota Port and Colombo Port City as the two flagship projects of the pragmatic cooperation between China and Sri Lanka under the Belt and Road Initiative.
China’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan said that China believes that under the guidance of the important consensuses reached by the leaders of China and Sri Lanka, the economic and trade cooperation between both countries will inject new vigor to Sri Lanka’s economic and social development, enable development achievements to better benefit the people, and let ordinary people get more sense of gain.
In November this year, China will hold the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai and Sri Lanka is expected to take part in the expo.
This is the world’s first expo themed on import and is a major policy measure of China to further open its market to the world.
“Sri Lanka attaches great importance to this event and will send a high-level delegation to China. Sri Lanka’s black tea, rubber, gems, textiles and other featured products will come to Shanghai, exhibiting the charm of Sri Lanka to the huge Chinese market. We believe that China-Sri Lanka traditional friendship will continue to deepen on this new platform,” the Ambassador said.
In the coming 15 years, China is expected to import 24 trillion USD worth of goods. The Ambassador said CIIE will provide new opportunities for export, build new platforms for countries to share dividends of China’s development and inject new vitality to world economic growth.
According to the statistics released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics, China’s GDP growth rate in the first half of 2018 reached 6.8%. The national economy sustained the momentum of steady and sound development with its inner stability and coordination strengthened, outstanding achievements in transformation and upgrading, new growth drivers thriving and the quality and performance improving steadily.
Courtesy: Colombo Gazette
