Editor's note:

Gamini Lakshman Peiris, Sri Lanka's minister of external affairs, spoke to Shanghai Daily reporter Ni Tao in Shanghai on August 10 about economic and political developments after the country's protracted civil war ended last year, and cementing ties with China. He spoke a day before meeting senior Chinese leaders in Beijing.

Q: What do you plan to discuss with Chinese leaders?

A: One of the issues will be the continuation of some projects which the Government of China has initiated.

There are many projects like the highway linking the capital city with the international airport; the highway linking Colombo with the southern city of Matara and a major power project called Norochcholai.

China is building a center for the performing arts in Colombo, an international airport in the deep south and is actively involved in the development of the Port of Hambantota. We want China to keep engaged in these projects.

I'll also inform the Chinese government about our plans for the future, because our policy is multi-pronged. There is some prioritization, starting with the humanitarian concerns relating to people displaced by the civil war that ended last year. There had been 290,000 people displaced by the war when it started, and today the number is down to 35,000.

When we speak of resettlement, we are not just thinking of physical relocation, but also allowing the refugees to live in dignity. That means livelihoods and incomes, which in turn requires the revival of the economy in those parts of the country that have been ravaged by the war.

The other purpose of my visit is of course connected to the business community. I'm accompanied by several business leaders from Sri Lanka. They'll have a major investment forum in Beijing.

Q: What do you think of the "China Model"? Does it appeal to Sri Lanka?

A: What we consider to be most attractive about the "China Model" is pragmatism, its ability to devise a homegrown, homespun solution, which is not to construct policies that don't suit the circumstances of your own country.

It has been China's huge achievement not to abandon the past, culture, religion, civilization - all of them are important, but you need to be forward-looking, to adapt them to a changing environment, not to live in the past.

So this sense of balance between the past and future is at the heart of policies constructed in keeping with culture and values, which are part and parcel of the psyche of China. We find that to be very attractive and something that ought to be emulated in other countries including Sri Lanka.

Not to reinvent the wheel, but solutions need not be mechanically adopted, but be applied in a manner that is consistent with the combination of circumstances in one's own local situation.

Q: Some Western media outlets, for instance, the Financial Times, reported in May that China is trying to lure Sri Lanka into its orbit with arms package and infrastructure projects. It says China wants to turn Sri Lanka into its naval base. What do you think of this view?

A: No, we don't think that is the case. We don't think China has an ulterior or selfish aim of that sort, because the friendship is not a matter of yesterday or the day before. It goes back a long time. Diplomatic relations between our two countries were established in 1957, but we have close relations with China even before that. At a time when China was not really having close contacts with the world outside, Sri Lanka was one of the countries that reached out to China and recognized China and did business with China. So it goes back more than half a century.

From that period on, Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike was in power in Sri Lanka. She is the widow of Prime Minister Solomon Bandaranaike who established diplomatic relations with China.

Mrs. Bandaranaike and the Government of China built the Bandaranaike International Memorial Conference Hall in memory of her husband who was assassinated.

Sri Lanka and China cherish a long history of good will and benefaction. It is not tied to the attainment of veneer, selfish or insular purpose. So that (Financial Time's assertion) is not a correct perception.

Chinese friendship has been there very much in the past, it's continuing at present and I'm sure it will continue in the future. Any kind of suspicion and imputation of ulterior motives is not consistent with the nature of that relationship spanning more than half a century.

Q: After the civil war ended last year, reconstruction and economic development began to top the Sri Lankan government's agendas. What are the opportunities and challenges for these twin priorities?

A: The opportunities would be for Chinese companies to come into the country. They are participating vigorously in building the Port of Hambantota. The first port call will happen on November 19. That is the occasion for which President Rajapaksa is inviting President Hu Jintao to come for that event. And we are extending that invitation in recognition of the massive contribution China has made to make that project possible.

Likewise, China is constructing several highways in the northern part of the country, which was affected by the war. One of our main aims is to take industry to villages.

Sri Lanka today is no longer an LDC (least developed country). It is a middle-income country with a per capita income of approximately US$2,050 per annum. And our economy today is growing at about 7 per cent.

But we also want to ensure that this prosperity percolates down to the grassroots level and President Rajapaksa's government has achieved a great deal of success in that regard. Economic progress is not just a matter of statistics, but a reflector of improvement of the quality of life of people at the bottom rung in the country, particularly in the rural sectors.

That's why his government is so popular. It has now almost a two-thirds majority in parliament, which is very difficult to achieve under the system of proportional representation we have in Sri Lanka.

We want the rural masses to benefit. That's why we are taking industry to villages. To do so, we need more power and electricity. We want to add about 2,000 megawatts of power to national consumption in the next two years. The coal-powered project funded by China, the Norochcholai project, is a major contribution to the development of Sri Lanka's economy.

All these opportunities are available - Chinese goods, Chinese services - for Chinese companies to participate as our partners in rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by two decades of conflict. It's a massive undertaking. The Government of China has a very important role to play in helping us face the challenge of future with regard to economic development.

(To be continued)