Looking beyond the controversy on the Colombo port project, China and Sri Lanka have decided to carve a new strategic framework for their relationship defined by the Maritime Silk Road, and avoid a clash with India through a Beijing-Colombo-New Delhi trilateral partnership.
Hosting visiting Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Sri Lanka was a strategic partner and Beijing wanted to “again promote and elevate the China-Sri Lanka relationship to fulfil an important purpose.”
The Sri Lankan President told Mr. Xi that work on the stalled $1.4-billion Colombo Port City Project would resume after problems were “sorted out,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry official said.
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