Outgoing Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong, who is due to conclude his tenure on July 31, travelled to Kandy to pay his respects to the country’s senior Buddhist prelates before his departure, The Island reported.
According to the report, the ambassador visited Kandy on the afternoon of July 18 to seek the blessings of the Mahanayake Theras of the Malwathu and Asgiriya Chapters, the two principal monastic fraternities of the Siyam Nikaya. He was received by the Most Venerable Thibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala Mahanayake Thera of the Malwathu Chapter and the Most Venerable Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Mahanayake Thera of the Asgiriya Chapter.
The prelates praised the envoy’s work over his nearly six-year posting, saying his assistance during natural disasters and his support for Sri Lanka’s economic, educational, cultural and religious sectors would not be forgotten.
Qi told the Mahanayakes that Sri Lanka’s economy was gradually improving under the new government, and said Beijing fully backed the administration’s emphasis on industrial policy, reform of state-owned enterprises and boosting exports. He pointed to several continuing areas of Chinese cooperation, including an agreement to supply school uniforms, the reconstruction of 14 bridges destroyed by cyclones, and the imminent arrival of the first batch of Chinese-supplied electric buses and vehicles.
Qi has served as China’s envoy in Colombo for close to six years, one of the longer recent postings in the role. His farewell calls come as Beijing prepares to name a successor ahead of the end-of-month handover.
