Ambassador Qi Zhenhong
New Chinese ambassador, Qi Zhenhong, for Sri Lanka arrives in Colombo on 30 October 2020, and will take office after 2 weeks of quarantine. Ambassador Qi is a senior diplomat and former President of China Institute of International Studies.
Upon arrival Ambassador Qi issued a statement saying:
“Our two countries are strategic cooperative partners based on sincere mutual assistance and ever-lasting friendship.”
“The time-tested friendship and trust between our two countries have grown even stronger through the joint fight against COVID-19, which set a great example of foreign relations with sincere friendship and mutual support between different countries,” stated Qi.
He went on to say, “let’s join hands to implement the consensus reached by leaders of our two countries, promote our strategic cooperative partnership, build the Belt and Road Initiative … so as to bring tangible benefits to our two people and better ensure peace, stability, development and prosperity in this region.”
Ambassador Qi takes up his post after last week's visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who warned Sri Lanka of China's increasing influence, and went on to call China a "predator."
See Ambassador Qi's full statement here.