Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has attended the virtual conference commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, in which he says that the Belt and Road Initiative is not something alien to us.
He further states that China will bring back the economic strength that Asia had five hundred years ago through this Silk Road.
“Dividing of the world into two camps is not important anymore. China did a historic service to relieve Asian and African countries from the hardships faced due to this division. It was China that helped the world, which was facing difficulties due to the division of the world into two camps. At that time, Zhou Enlai (first Premier of the People’s Republic of China) brought the idea of non-aligned nations to the world, for world relief. That non-aligned policy is still a relief to the world today,” Rajapaksa said in his speech.
He further said: “China is traveling along this Silk Road today with many lessors for the world. The open economy has spread throughout the world, changing the very structure of many countries. However, China accepted the world reality of the open economy in a way that was suitable to China. Therefore, China did not accept the open economy as something that divides the country into classes and weakens the country. Instead, China has successfully eradicated poverty of 900 million people under its open economic policy and set a great example to the world by the way it adopted the open economy. I am confident that, China will bring back the economic strength that Asia had five hundred years ago through this Silk Road.”
