China-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Cooperation was held by the CCPIT and the Embassy of Sri Lanka in China on the morning of April 8. Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made a keynote speech at the conference. Mr. Jiang Zengwei, chairman of the CCPIT, Yi Xianliang, ambassador of China to Sri Lanka and Mangala, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka also attended the conference.
In his keynote speech, Prime Minister Ranil mentioned that China’s “Belt and Road” initiative could fully integrate with Sri Lanka’s development strategy. The construction of maritime Silk Road is good for Sri Lanka to play to regional advantages, make it an aviation hub and promote the growth of South Asia and the Indian Ocean rim. Sri Lanka is carrying out the economic structural reform by building industry parks in the port area, which has geographical advantages. It is also accelerating the industrialization and developing logistics, tourism, finance and other service industries. The Sri Lanka government is committed to playing a pivotal role in the policy making and regulation, to create a fairly competitive environment for global investors.
Mr. Jiang said that China and Sri Lanka share a long history of communication and dialogue. The recent years have witnessed the rapid growth of bilateral trade volume and the promotion of large cooperation projects. The sustainable development and further opening-up of the Chinese economy will bring more cooperation opportunities for Sri Lanka and other countries in the world. The CCPIT will work with its counterparts in Sri Lanka to create cooperation platforms for companies of both sides, to encourage Chinese investors to expand their businesses in Sri Lanka and promote Chinese import from Sri Lana. The CCPIT will also discuss with Sri Lanka trade promotion institutions to further cooperation and promote the development of China-Sri Lanka trade relationship.
Ambassador Yi Xianliang emphasized the importance of China-Sri Lanka business relationship and encouraged Chinese companies to make investments in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Minister of Special Commissions Amunugama introduced the investment environment and comparative advantages of Sri Lanka. Luo Yan, chairman of China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd., shared her experience of investment cooperation with Sri Lanka. At the conference the Sri Lanka government officials communicated with Chinese business representatives and answered questions.
More than 250 Chinese corporate representatives were present at the conference, with their industry backgrounds including infrastructural construction, energy, manufacturing, communication and other industries.
