Mahinda says Xi Jinping is a personal friend

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa says Chinese President Xi Jinping is a personal friend and also a friend of Sri Lanka.

He also said that the Chinese President is supporting Sri Lanka’s development drive.

Rajapaksa expressed these views at an event held in Colombo today.

The event was held to mark the 70th Anniversary or the Rubber-Rice Pact which was signed in December 1952.

Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was among those who attended the event.

Speaking further, the Prime Minister said that China has helped reshape the entire Asian region.

Meanwhile,?Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the meeting of Chinese and Sri Lankan political parties, marking the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries and the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Rubber-Rice Pact.

President Xi, also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said China and Sri Lanka signed the historic Rubber-Rice Pact 70 years ago, opening the door of friendly exchanges between the two sides.

The five-year trade agreement was signed in December 1952 when China needed to import rubber and other supplies while Sri Lanka, a rubber exporter, was facing rising rice prices and a slump in rubber prices. The pact played an important role in the economic and social development of both countries.

China and Sri Lanka established diplomatic ties in February 1957. Xi underscored the mutual respect, solidarity and mutual assistance between the two countries during the past 65 years and their mutual support on issues involving each other’s core interests.

China-Sri Lanka relations have become a model of friendship and win-win cooperation between big and small countries, he said.

Xi also hailed the two countries for helping each other amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CPC maintains friendly exchanges and is committed to deepening practical cooperation with major political parties in Sri Lanka, which has played an important role in the healthy and stable development of relations between the two countries and benefited the two peoples, Xi said.

He said the CPC stands ready to make joint efforts with Sri Lanka’s political parties to promote the steady development of bilateral ties and make greater contributions to peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region.?(Colombo Gazette)