China on Thursday stated it maintains an "open attitude" towards India and other nations having mutually beneficial cooperation with Sri Lanka, after Colombo announced signing a 3.85-billion U.S. dollar deal with an Indian private company-led joint venture to build an oil refinery near the Chinese-built and operated Hambantota port.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular news conference in Beijing that he was not aware of the refinery project yet, but "China stands ready to work with India and other relevant sides to help boost Sri Lanka's development."

"China adopts an open attitude toward the mutually beneficial cooperation between Sri Lanka and India as well as other parties. China stands ready to work with India and other relevant sides to help boost Sri Lanka's development. In foreign relations, China is more broad-minded than you might have imagined," Geng told journalists in response to a question on the reported Indian investments in Sri Lanka.

"China and Sri Lanka have conducted extensive and deep cooperation in various fields under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative with fruitful results. The Hambantota project you mentioned is a good case in point. Through such mutually beneficial cooperation, China has been helping with Sri Lanka's economic and social development and Sri Lanka commends and appreciates what China has done," he added. 

Earlier this week, Sri Lankan officials announced that a joint venture between India's Accord Group (through its Singapore-based investment vehicle Silver Park International Pvt Lte) and Omani government-owned Oman Oil Company have agreed to a 3.85-billion-U.S.-dollar deal to build an oil refinery in Mirijjawila in Hambantota district.

The Sri Lankan officials revealed that the privately owned Accord Group will control 70 percent of the joint venture while the Omani government entity will own the remaining 30 percent of the deal. Media reports citing Sri Lankan officials stated that construction of the refinery is expected to begin on March 24 and be completed in 44 months.

Sri Lanka's state-owned investment board disclosed this week that the country received its highest ever FDI of 2.37 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, up 38 percent from 1.78 billion U.S. dollars received a year earlier, Xinhua news agency reported.

China remained the biggest source of FDI for Sri Lanka, followed by India and Singapore, revealed Champika Malalgoda, Director General of the Board of Investment.

Malalgoda said although the country fell short of its target of 2.5 billion U.S. dollars, the achievement of 2.37 billion dollars was the highest received in a single year.

Sri Lanka aimed to attract FDIs worth three billion U.S. dollars this year, said Malalgoda, expressing hope that the country could achieve this with the projects in the pipeline including the oil refinery in Mirijjawila.

(With input from agencies)