In the afternoon of March 26, 2015, Premier Li Keqiang met at the Great Hall of the People with President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka who came to China to pay a state visit and attend the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2015.

Li Keqiang said that China and Sri Lanka are friendly neighbors to each other. This morning, President Xi Jinping had a sincere and in-depth talk with you, reaching important consensus. The Chinese government has always attached great importance to its relations with Sri Lanka and is willing to work with the Sri Lankan side to jointly maintain and develop the traditional friendship between the two countries, and expand and deepen practical cooperation so as to promote the development of the China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership.

Li Keqiang pointed out that China is committed to building the community of common destiny with its neighboring countries, enabling China and the neighboring countries to benefit from the development of each other. Based on mutual benefits and win-win results, China-Sri Lanka cooperation is oriented to the whole Sri Lanka and all its people, which is also conducive to the development and prosperity of East Asia and South Asia, the most populous regions in the world. The Chinese side is willing to continue to encourage Chinese enterprises to invest and conduct business in Sri Lanka and participate in the construction of infrastructure and major industrial projects of Sri Lanka, so as to help improve its level of industrialization and promote local development and employment. I hope that the Sri Lankan side maintains the continuity and stability of its policies to provide a sound investment environment for Chinese enterprises and effectively protect their legitimate rights and interests.

Maithripala Sirisena expressed that the Sri Lanka-China friendship has a long history. The Sri Lankan side appreciates the long-term precious support from the Chinese side. Maintaining a good friendship with China has been a consistent policy of successive governments of Sri Lanka. The new government of Sri Lanka regards China as a sincere friend, cherishes the support and assistance from the Chinese side and is willing to further consolidate and develop Sri Lanka-China friendly cooperative relations. Sri Lanka hopes that the Chinese side could increase investment in Sri Lanka and is willing to work with the Chinese side to enhance exchange and cooperation in international affairs.