President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s official visit to China commencing Tuesday (January 14) marks a continuation of Sri Lanka’s efforts to balance relations with China and India, two influential powers with strategic and economic interests in Sri Lanka. The visit aims to strengthen the long-standing economic partnership with China, particularly in areas like infrastructure and economic recovery through the Belt and Road Initiative BRI). 

In his first address to the nation, the President emphasized that Sri Lanka, as an island nation, has the potential to attain a higher standing in the international arena by adopting a nonaligned foreign policy. The close development partnership with China must be viewed in terms of neutrality which aims to avoid reliance on or alignment with any regional power or a global power bloc.

One-China policy 

In an unusual move, the government officially put the record straight that the long-standing One-China policy will be firmly embedded in Sri Lanka’s international relations. This visit seeks to reaffirm the 68 years of Sri Lanka-China relations and reaffirms Colombo’s foreign policy of non-alignment and neutrality and the desire to have cordial relationship with friendly neighbor India and main economic partner China.

President Dissanayake’s visit to Beijing follows his visit to India in December, his first foreign trip since assuming charge on September 21.

China held nearly than half of Sri Lanka's bilateral debt at the height of the economic crisis in 2022, when the country ran out of foreign currency to pay for essential imports such as food, fuel and medicine.

The economy is recovering after receiving a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) initiated by the previous government and continues with the fullest endorsement of the current government. Head of the radical Marxist party, Jnataha Vimukthi Peramuna, Anura Kumara Dissanayake took office as president in September with a pledge to fight corruption and tighten his grip on power after the alliance, National People’s Power (NPP) won a landslide election victory. 

The destination of President Dissanayake's first foreign trip as head of state was to neighbouring India, where he established a rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and succeeded in obtaining a huge grant and ensure several Indian investments in key areas. 

Balancing geopolitical undercurrents 

The benefits of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy of neutrality was evident during the recent challenges faced on several fronts and next week’s visit will be another significant milestone in continuation of that policy. 

It is important for Sri Lanka’s leadership to balance the geopolitical undercurrents prevailing in the Indian Ocean region. 

Dissanayake kept his priorities right by visiting India first, stressing the message that the NPP government did not want to send any wrong signals. Being a small island nation strategically situated in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka is keen to have cordial relations with both emerging powers with not just regional but global ambitions.

It is a fact that Sri Lanka has continued to accept the People’s Republic in its One China policy and has treated Taiwan as a province in China. However, on the eve of the visit of Dissanayake to China, the new government got the cabinet to reconfirm Sri Lanka’s support to the ‘One China’ policy.

On September 23, 2024, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Anura Kumara Dissanayake on his inauguration as President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Xi Jinping pointed out that China and Sri Lanka are traditional friendly neighbors. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, China and Sri Lanka have always understood and supported each other, setting a good example of friendly coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation between countries of different sizes. Xi Jinping said that he highly values the development of China-Sri Lanka relations, and is ready to work with President Dissanayake to carry forward the traditional friendship, enhance political mutual trust, facilitate more fruitful high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and make steady and long-term progress of China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership featuring sincere mutual assistance and ever-lasting friendship, so as to bring more benefits to the people of the two countries.

During the visit, several MoUs are to be signed covering, among others, investment, the power sector, fisheries, and the economy. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath who will accompany the President told the media that, in addition to the MOUs, the main topics to be taken up for discussion would include China’s support for economic recovery, aligning with its assistance for the International Monetary Fund’s debt-restructuring programme.

Chinese ‘research vessels’ 

Observers speculate that a key focus of discussions in Beijing will be the purported ban on Chinese “research vessels” entering Sri Lankan ports that India wants. During his visit to New Delhi, President Dissanayake promised that not an inch of Sri Lankan territory would be given for any activity that could  be considered inimical to India.

Analysts also believe that China will not want Sri Lanka backsliding on the proposed FTA (free trade agreement) in view of the excessive production of its goods and will want an advancement of its BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) with Hambantota port as a nodal point.

During the visit, President Dissanayake will hold bilateral talks with President Xi Jinping on a range of areas of mutual interest and will also meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and the National People’s Congress’s Standing Committee Chairman, Zhao Leji.

Herath said two business forums would be held, and one of them would be with state-run companies, including China Harbour, Sinopec, and other companies, including those in the hotel sector. The president will visit techno parks and vehicle-assembling plants in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province to look into the possibility of attracting investments, the Foreign Ministry added.

(The author, a former Sri Lankan diplomat, is a political and strategic affairs commentator. Views expressed are personal. He can be reached at sugeeswara@gmail.com)