Chinese premier meets Sri Lankan PM

BEIJING -- Premier Li Qiang on Monday met with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, who is in Beijing for the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women.

Noting that China and Sri Lanka enjoy a deep traditional friendship, Li said China is ready to work with Sri Lanka in deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, striving to build a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future and delivering more benefits to the two peoples.

He said that China is willing to expand two-way trade and investment with Sri Lanka and enhance cooperation in fields such as green development, digital economy, modern agriculture, and marine economy in the joint pursuit of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Expressing China's willingness to import more high-quality products from Sri Lanka, Li said the country will continue to encourage Chinese companies to invest in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka-China relations boast a long history, and bilateral cooperation has yielded fruitful results, said Amarasuriya.

Noting that the Sri Lankan government attaches great importance to relations with China, she said Sri Lanka is looking forward to strengthening exchanges with China at all levels, and deepening cooperation in fields such as investment, ports, infrastructure, agriculture, textile industry, poverty reduction, and digital economy.