COLLOMBO: Sri Lanka and China vowed to enhance pragmatic cooperation in the military as well as other sectors, CGTN reported on Thursday.
The pledge came after Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa met with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe.
The Chinese side appreciates Sri Lanka’s position on issues relating to China’s Taiwan, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and will as always support Sri Lanka’s stance on issues relating to human rights and national reconciliation, Wei said.
Noting the long-lasting friendship between the two militaries, Wei called for further efforts to deepen cooperation and promote relations.
Peaceful development and win-win cooperation is the global trend and the right way forward, Wei said, adding that certain major countries are keen to form cliques and factions and seek regional hegemony, which goes against people’s shared aspiration and severely harms the interests of the regional countries.
China appreciates Sri Lanka’s independent and non-aligned policy and will make joint efforts with Sri Lanka to strengthen coordination and safeguard regional peace and tranquility.
Closely following the pragmatic cooperation in the military field between the two countries, the Sri Lankan president, who is also the defense minister, hoped that the two militaries will carry out closer exchanges so as to further lift the level of pragmatic cooperation.
Noting that Sri Lanka has prioritized developing its relations with China and firmly supported China’s positions on issues concerning its core interests, Rajapaksa said his country has been pursuing an independent foreign policy and will never bend to pressure from major powers outside the region and never forge an alliance with any country.
During the meeting, Rajapaksa also thanked China for providing long-term and precious support to Sri Lanka and hoped to learn the governing experience from the Communist Party of China on poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, among others.
In his meeting with Wei, the Sri Lankan prime minister said Wei and his delegation visited Sri Lanka at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is still not contained, demonstrating that China attaches great importance to developing ties with Sri Lanka.
Hailing China for its achievements made in pandemic containment, economic development and poverty alleviation, the prime minister thanked China for providing unselfish help to his country.
Sri Lanka will always be a sincere friend to China and will firmly support China’s position on safeguarding its own core interests, the prime minister said.
Sri Lanka stands ready to strengthen exchanges and pragmatic cooperation with China in various fields including the military, so as to achieve further growth of the bilateral ties, he added.
For his part, Wei said that China and Sri Lanka enjoy a long history of friendship with deep bilateral relations.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN
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