Sri Lankan FM reassures Chinese investors

Sri Lanka's foreign minister has moved to reassure Chinese wishing to invest in his country despite an apparent backtracking in the approval of a China-funded port project in Colombo.

Mangala Samaraweera is on a two-day China visit, the first by a Sri Lankan minister since Sri Lanka's new government took office in January, and it comes after the government decided to re-examine arrangements to build the 1.4-billion-U.S.-dollar project.

On Feb. 5, it allowed the project to continue after an environmental assessment study. But last week, Sri Lanka said it would reconsider the outright transfer of a parcel of land to China under the deal.

The re-examination is not targeted at China, as Sri Lanka does the same with projects funded by other countries, Samaraweera told reporters. "Anything relating to Chinese investment will be shared and discussed with the government of China before we take any final decision," he said.

"We will always welcome Chinese investment as one of the emerging superpowers in the world," Samaraweera said when meeting with the press along with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi after their talks on Friday.

Chinese investment has increased tenfold in the last several years, Samaraweera said. "We hope that with the new reforms in Sri Lanka, more transparency of the government and restoration of rule of law, Chinese investors will find Sri Lanka an even more attractive destination for investment than ever before."

China has been investing heavily in Sri Lanka's infrastructure including ports and roads.

Wang and Samaraweera also discussed preparations for President Sirisena's state visit to China in late March, which will be his second foreign trip since resuming the presidency. Trade proposals are expected to be finalized after the visit.

According to Wang, China set out its vision for furthering cooperation with Sri Lanka, namely by prioritizing building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, negotiating toward signing a free trade agreement, infrastructure development and industrial cooperation.

China and Sri Lanka will also foster new drivers in the five areas of health, agriculture, science and technology, tourism and people-to-people exchanges to enhance Sri Lanka's capacity for self-development, Wang said.