Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena arrived in Beijing on Monday for a six-day official visit to China at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

According to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Friday, Chinese leaders will have in-depth exchange of views with Gunawardena on continuing China-Sri Lanka traditional friendship, deepening political mutual trust, expanding practical cooperation, as well as international and regional issues of common interest.

China and Sri Lanka are neighboring countries that share traditional friendship. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1957, the two countries have always helped each other, setting a good example of equal treatment and friendly coexistence between countries, Lin said.

In recent years, China and Sri Lanka have witnessed frequent high-level exchanges, enhanced political mutual trust, increasingly close exchanges and cooperation in economy, trade, culture and other fields, and sound communication and coordination in international and regional affairs.

Last October, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe attended the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. The two sides reached important consensus on developing China-Sri Lanka relations at the forum.

The spokesperson noted that China attaches great importance to the development of bilateral relations, and stands ready to work with Sri Lanka to jointly promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and push for new progress in developing China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership featuring sincere mutual assistance and lasting friendship.

Source: CGTN
--Agencies