In his speech, Ambassador Wang Shunqing thanked the overseas Chinese in Sri Lanka and friendly people from all walks of life in Sri Lanka for their contributions to deepening the friendship between the two countries, and extended New Year greetings to everyone in the Year of the Dragon. Ambassador Wang said that in the past year, China has taken solid and powerful steps to maintain the overall long-term economic trend, and Chinese-style modernization will continue to provide impetus for world economic development. Exchanges between China and Sri Lanka have resumed in an orderly manner in various fields, the potential for practical cooperation has been released at an accelerated pace, economic and trade cooperation has continued to advance, cultural exchanges have been brilliant, and people-to-people friendship has continued to deepen. The China-Sri Lanka Friendship Monument (a full-scale replica of the large-scale astronomical instrument Ji Heng Fu Chen Yu that Slovenian astronomer Liu Songling presided over in China in the 18th century) was completed in Sri Lanka.

Volic, the Sri Lankan director of the Confucius Institute, said in his speech that the cultural exchanges between China and Sri Lanka have become increasingly active in the past year, and the successful completion of the China-Sri Lanka Friendship Monument marks the continuation of the history of friendly exchanges between the two countries spanning four centuries. I believe that with the joint efforts of China and Sri Lanka, the future of bilateral relations will be brighter. In recent years, the number of local people who are interested in Chinese language and culture has gradually increased. The Confucius Institute at the University of Ljubljana is willing to continue to contribute to the spread of Chinese language and culture and provide assistance to the friendly relations between China and Sri Lanka.

Reprinted from [ Xinhua News ]