[People's Daily] Deepening China-Sri Lanka Cooperation to Benefit the People of Both Countries

China and Sri Lanka are traditional friendly neighbors. In recent years, the two countries have witnessed frequent high-level exchanges, continuous enhancement of political mutual trust, increasingly close exchanges and cooperation in economic, trade, cultural and other fields, and maintained good communication and coordination in international and regional affairs. China and Sri Lanka should implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, jointly build the 鈥淏elt and Road鈥� with high quality, expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and promote the continuous achievement of new progress in the strategic cooperative partnership of sincere mutual assistance and lasting friendship between China and Sri Lanka.

Jointly Building the 鈥淏elt and Road鈥� to Boost Modernization

In Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, on the golden beach next to the azure sea, the construction of the futuristic planned city - Colombo Port City (see photo, taken by Xiang Nan) is in full swing.

In March this year, the groundbreaking ceremony of the One-Stop Service Center and Financial Industry Park of Colombo Port City was held. The overall project of Sri Lanka's first downtown duty-free shop in Port City has been completed, with a 100% occupancy rate. The merchants' decoration is nearing completion and is expected to open to welcome guests in the near future.

Colombo Port City is a key project for China and Sri Lanka to jointly build the 鈥淏elt and Road鈥�. It is invested, constructed and operated by China Harbour Engineering Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company Limited. The project construction adheres to the concept of openness, inclusiveness, green and low-carbon, and will create a high-quality working and living environment for the local people.

Since the core regulation of the Sri Lankan Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act, the Strategic Importance Enterprise Exemption and Incentive Guidelines, officially came into effect in July last year, nine detailed regulations and policies, including the Special Visa Policy, have been implemented, and 59 companies have completed registration, achieving new progress in the construction of the Port City Economic Zone.

Sanjeewa, 58, studied in China in the 1980s. In 2014, with the official commencement of Colombo Port City, Sanjeewa became a senior engineer in the project engineering department. He said: 鈥淢y job responsibility is to connect with Colombo government departments and municipal facility supply departments, explain the significance of the Port City to local officials, and promote the construction of municipal supporting facilities in the Port City as soon as possible.鈥�

It is understood that Colombo Port City will create more than 400,000 direct and indirect jobs. Sismi, a Sri Lankan girl who speaks fluent Chinese, is responsible for project investment promotion and marketing in Colombo Port City. 鈥淐olombo Port City brings new employment opportunities, allowing us to achieve more stable economic development, and it will also become an attractive tourist attraction,鈥� Sismi said.

Sri Lanka is one of the first countries to welcome and join the joint construction of the 鈥淏elt and Road鈥� initiative, and high-quality joint construction of the 鈥淏elt and Road鈥� benefits the people of both countries. As an important project for China and Sri Lanka to jointly build the 鈥淏elt and Road鈥�, Colombo Port City and Hambantota Port will promote Sri Lanka's economic development, improve people's livelihoods, and boost Sri Lanka's modernization process.

In October last year, China and Sri Lanka agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding on jointly accelerating the preparation of a cooperation plan for jointly building the 鈥淏elt and Road鈥� and other documents, exchange development experiences, connect development strategies, coordinate and promote cooperation, and create new highlights and inject new impetus into the high-quality joint construction of the 鈥淏elt and Road鈥� between the two countries.

Technological Empowerment to Improve People's Livelihood and Well-being

As a rainy country, Sri Lanka is not short of water, but the issue of drinking water safety has not been fundamentally resolved. On March 26, 2015, representatives of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the predecessor of the Sri Lankan Ministry of Water Supply - representatives of the Ministry of Urban Development and Water Supply in Beijing signed the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Sri Lankan Ministry of Urban Development and Water Supply. Soon after, led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and relevant departments in Sri Lanka, the China-Sri Lanka Joint Center for Water Technology Research and Demonstration (hereinafter referred to as the 鈥淐hina-Sri Lanka Water Center鈥�) was officially established. Relying on the power of science and technology, the China-Sri Lanka Water Center is helping the people of Sri Lanka realize their desire to drink safe water.

Metihaka Village in Matara is located in a remote mountainous area in central Sri Lanka. The villagers live on traditional farming, and simply filtered surface water used to be the village's long-term source of drinking water. In June last year, experts from the China-Sri Lanka Water Center brought new, easy-to-maintain water treatment equipment to this small mountain village. The equipment can treat 120 tons of water per day, providing high-quality drinking water for more than 800 villagers in Metihaka Village and nearby villages.

鈥淏efore this, we carried out two demonstration projects in Sri Lanka in 2017 and 2018, using electrodialysis technology for centralized water supply and nanofiltration membrane technology for decentralized water supply, with daily processing scales of 300 tons and 20 tons respectively, and both achieved good results.鈥� Wei Yuansong, director of the Water Pollution Control Laboratory of the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, told reporters, 鈥淲hen we returned to the pilot villages for a follow-up visit in December last year, we found that the health of the local villagers had been improved to a certain extent.鈥�

Currently, the China-Sri Lanka Water Center has built a number of drinking water treatment demonstration projects in rural Sri Lanka, and has made important progress in the study of the causes of kidney disease. At the same time, the center has trained 36 Sri Lankan graduate students and 18 water affairs professionals in the field of water and environment, and has trained 30 nephrology medical staff, technicians and 20 field epidemiologists for Sri Lanka, providing sustainable solutions for reducing the incidence of chronic kidney disease and ensuring the health of residents in the local area.

In addition, the China-Sri Lanka Joint Center for Science and Education, affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is helping the development of local marine science by building a joint tropical marine environment observation center, developing a marine meteorological forecasting system for the waters around Sri Lanka, and running a master's program in marine environmental science. Disna Ranasekera, the Sri Lankan director of the center, said that the center is willing to give full play to its role as a platform to provide support for more scientists to participate in Sri Lankan-Chinese multidisciplinary research cooperation, strengthen exchanges between the two sides, and promote more achievements in scientific and technological innovation cooperation between the two countries.

Cultural Exchanges Enhance People-to-People Connectivity

In February this year, the Sri Lanka China Cultural Photography Exhibition, co-hosted by the Sri Lanka China Cultural Center and the Sri Lanka Photographers Association, was held in Colombo, exhibiting more than 300 works by photographers from both countries, covering themes such as natural scenery, scenic spots, and festival scenes in both countries, focusing on showcasing the history, culture, and customs of the two countries.

鈥淔rom Chinese markets to Sri Lankan villages, these photographic works transcend cultural differences and demonstrate the optimism and resilience shared by the people of both countries. It is these same qualities that bind the people of the two countries together,鈥� said Romesh, chairman of the Sri Lanka Photographers Association. 鈥淭hese photographic works will build a bridge between the people of Sri Lanka and China and enhance mutual understanding.鈥�

The Pabbaralu Gala site in northwestern Sri Lanka is a key link in ancient Indian Ocean trade. It was once an important commodity producing area, and its products date from the 3rd century BC to the 10th century AD, and are found in many sites in the early history of East Asia. From January to February this year, archaeological experts from Center for Archaeological Science, Sichuan University, the School of Archaeology and Museology, Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology came here to form a joint archaeological team with the Sri Lanka National Archaeological Bureau and the Department of Archaeology of the University of Kelaniya to conduct archaeological excavations at the Pabbaralu Gala site.

In nearly a month of archaeological work, the two teams discovered tens of thousands of pieces of sand-containing red pottery, brown pottery, various colored glass beads and glass products in the core area of the site, providing valuable material evidence for studying the cultural characteristics and historical changes of the Pabbaralu Gala site. 鈥淭his site is the first complete glass production-related kiln discovered in Sri Lanka, and is currently the most complete and oldest glass processing site discovered in the world, with extremely high academic value,鈥� said Li Yuniu, associate professor at Center for Archaeological Science, Sichuan University.

In recent years, with the archaeological cooperation between Sichuan University and the University of Kelaniya as the representative, China and Sri Lanka have successively carried out a series of joint archaeological studies, and have discovered Chinese ceramic fragments and other items from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, which are of great significance for studying the maritime trade and cultural exchanges at that time.

鈥淐hina and Sri Lanka are both ancient civilizations on the Asian continent. The two countries have a long history of civilization exchanges and are trustworthy true friends and good partners to each other,鈥� said Qi Zhenhong, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka. China and Sri Lanka adhere to being partners in mutually beneficial cooperation and will inject positive energy into world peace, stability and prosperity.