On November 12, the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI), a think tank under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, and the Friends of Silk Road Club co-hosted a seminar themed on “China’s 15th Five-Year Plan: New Opportunities for Shared Development”. The event was attended by Dr. Nishara Mendis, Executive Director of the LKI; Dr. Dayaratna Silva, Executive Director of the Pathfinder Foundation; and over 20 representatives from nearly 10 think tanks, along with members of friendly organizations such as the Association for Sri Lanka–China Social and Cultural Cooperation and the Sri Lanka–China Business Council. Mr. Mei Jing, Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy, was invited to the seminar and delivered a speech.

Counsellor Mei gave an overview of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), introducing the great significance of the session, and China’s major achievements in economic and social development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. He stressed that the 15th Five-Year Plan will write yet another chapter on China’s miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability. In the next five years, China will continue to uphold openness, cooperation, and mutual benefit, sharing opportunities of development with the world. Currently, China-Sri Lanka cooperation is showing good momentum. The leaders of both countries reached important consensus on deepening cooperation, providing new strategic guidance for the development of China-Sri Lanka relations. Sri Lanka’s three major initiatives - “Clean Sri Lanka”“Digital Transformation” and “Rural Development” - are highly aligned with some areas of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan. China is willing to enhance synergy between development strategies and plans with Sri Lanka, expand practical cooperation in various fields, help Sri Lanka achieve development and prosperity, and jointly build a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future.

Attendees spoke actively and shared their views enthusiastically during the seminar, congratulating the successful convening of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, and applauding China’s major development achievements and its positive contribution to global prosperity and stability. They paid close attention to technological and industrial innovation, economic structural reform, rural revitalization, ensuring and improving public wellbeing, and Belt and Road cooperation in the 15th Five-Year Plan, and noted that China’s relevant measures could provide important insights to Sri Lanka and other countries and will open up new bright prospects for global development cooperation. They looked forward to further deepening China–Sri Lanka cooperation in various fields for common development, prosperity and a better future.