The Chinese embassy in Colombo said that Sri Lanka has made progress on human rights and reconciliation and called on the international community not to complicate matters.
"We believe that the Sri Lankan government and people have the wisdom and capacity to deal appropriately with their internal affairs," an emailed statement said.
"The international community, instead of taking measures that may complicate the issue, should create a favourable external environment for Sri Lanka to pursue stability and economic development," said Zhou Yongsheng, Chief of Political Section.
An article in The Diplomat meanwhile said that China’s recent statement, calling on Sri Lanka to address human rights issues, would have caused some discomfort in Colombo, despite a “qualifier”, acknowledging that countries deal with human rights differently, due to different circumstances.
“Nevertheless, the statement must come as somewhat of a surprise for Sri Lanka, which has cooperated with China extensively in fomenting its own economic development […] The Chinese statement on its human rights record is sure to cause some discomfort. China has been a valuable partner for the small nation in multilateral fora over the human rights question, and doubting its support now could be destabilizing to the bilateral relationship,” the article said.
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