Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa met the outgoing Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong, at a courtesy call held on Tuesday (July 28) at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in Colombo.
Premadasa thanked the ambassador for his contribution to strengthening diplomatic relations between the two countries during his tenure, Ada Derana reported.
The two sides exchanged views on the longstanding bilateral relationship, economic cooperation, investment, trade and development assistance, and on the importance of maintaining continued engagement between Colombo and Beijing.
Extending best wishes to Qi for his future work, the Opposition Leader underscored the importance of sustaining what he described as a constructive and mutually beneficial partnership.
The meeting forms part of a round of farewell calls by the ambassador, who is due to conclude a posting of close to six years — one of the longer recent tenures in the role — on July 31. Earlier this month he travelled to Kandy to pay his respects to the Mahanayake Theras of the Malwathu and Asgiriya Chapters before his departure.
Beijing is expected to name a successor ahead of the end-of-month handover.
China remains one of Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral creditors and a significant source of investment, and was among the official creditors involved in the country’s debt restructuring. Recent areas of cooperation raised during the ambassador’s farewell engagements have included a school uniform supply agreement, the reconstruction of bridges damaged by cyclones, and the delivery of Chinese-supplied electric buses.
