Xi meets Sri Lankan president

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, who is in China to attend the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations (CDAC), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 14, 2019. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday met with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, who is in Beijing to attend the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations (CDAC).

Expressing China's strong condemnation of recent terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, Xi said China is ready to stand alongside the Sri Lankan government and people, support Sri Lanka in combating terrorism, and help the country enhance its counter-terrorism capacity building to safeguard national security and stability.

China stands ready to work with Sri Lanka to constantly push forward their strategic cooperative partnership that features sincere mutual help and long-term friendship, Xi said.

He called on the two sides to maintain regular high-level communication, firmly grasp the general direction of friendly cooperation, and staunchly support each other.

The two countries should steadily advance the joint construction of the Belt and Road, promote cooperation in major projects, and accelerate livelihood projects to benefit the people of Sri Lanka, Xi said. He called for deepening security law enforcement cooperation and jointly addressing non-traditional security threats including terrorism.

Xi expressed hope that Sri Lanka would make good use of the CDAC as a platform to showcase its time-honored Buddhist civilization and colorful and diversified cultures.

Sirisena spoke of the significance of the China-proposed CDAC for the region and the world, saying it's also important for Sri Lanka.

Thanking China for its long-term support, Sirisena said Sri Lanka always regards developing relations with China as a priority, and is willing to work with China to enhance Belt and Road cooperation, and deepen development and security cooperation.

The two leaders attended a ceremony for the signing of bilateral cooperation documents after the meeting.