By CGTN's Yan Xue

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Sri Lanka. The emergence of new details about China’s endeavors in Sri Lanka deserves revisiting some projects brought by the Belt and Road Initiative, such as the Colombo Port City and Hambantota as a special zone for Chinese investors. 

Sri Lanka, which is striving to become a financial and shipping center in the Indian Ocean, can take particular advantage of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative. During an interview with CGTN's Yang Rui on "Dialogue," Sri Lanka's Special Assignment Minister Sarath Amunugama said his country has established cordial diplomatic ties with China and called for more efforts to advance the strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries.

However, India is Sri Lanka’s northern neighbor, and historically and culturally, the two nations have been through a lot. As Sri Lanka moves closer to China in recent years especially in the military field, some Western analysts have argued that Sri Lanka could become a proxy battlefield for India and China.‍

“Sri Lanka and India have (long) been friends. As they say, geographically we may be close to India. Although we have so many cultural, economic and all sorts of social relationships, it doesn’t mean we don’t follow an independent policy when it comes to our own economic development. In the modern world, we have to have a sophisticated approach. So we can be friends with many countries. ”