China Sri Lanka Photo:VCG

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Sri Lanka's President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will pay a state visit to China from January 14 to 17, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Friday. 

The upcoming visit will be President Dissanayake's first visit to China after taking office, and is of great importance to the development of China-Sri Lanka relations. During the visit, President Xi Jinping will hold talks with Dissanayake, and Premier Li Qiang and Chairman Zhao Leji of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress will meet with him respectively, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a press conference on Friday. 

China and Sri Lanka have long been each other's friend and close neighbor. Since our two countries established diplomatic ties in 1957, the bilateral relationship has stood the test of the changing international landscape, always maintained sound and steady growth, and set up a fine example of friendly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation between countries different in size, Guo said.

China stands ready to work with Sri Lanka through the upcoming visit to carry forward our time-honored friendship, deepen political mutual trust, and expand high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and practical cooperation in various fields for continuous new progress in advancing the China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership featuring sincerity, mutual support and ever-lasting friendship as well as more benefit for the two peoples, the spokesperson said.

Dissanayake was sworn in as the ninth executive president of Sri Lanka at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka on September 23, 2024, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Dissanayake's first visit to China since taking office presents a valuable opportunity to deepen bilateral cooperation, particularly under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Sri Lanka, strategically located in the Indian Ocean, has become a key partner in the BRI, which has already brought tangible benefits to the country. The Sri Lankan government aims to engage with Chinese leaders to explore ways to better align with the initiative in supporting Sri Lanka's economic recovery, Hu Zhiyong, a professor from Zhejiang International Studies University and also research fellow at the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.

Indian media have paid close attention to Dissanayake's visit to China. For example, Indian Express reported about Dissanayake's visit to China on Tuesday and noted that "Dissanayake's visit to China follows his visit to India in December." The report also mentioned Dissanayake's reaffirmation of the commitment to advancing high-quality development under BRI.

Indian media's focus on the Sri Lankan president's visit to China underscores their growing anxiety. They have long considered South Asian countries to be within India's sphere of influence, but struggle to provide concrete support to help these countries address their challenges. At the same time, Indian media are unwilling to accept China or any other country's growing presence in the region, which fuels their emphasis on the "debt trap" rhetoric and the so-called "China threat" narrative, said Hu.

Many countries in the region, including Sri Lanka, are now adopting independent foreign policies and resisting external pressure. They seek to cooperate with other nations in ways that best support their own development, said the expert.