BEIJING (Reuters) - Sri Lanka and China signed a series of cooperation agreements on Tuesday during a visit by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse marking 50 years of diplomatic relations.
The eight agreements included a memorandum of understanding on investment promotion and a memorandum on the donation of eye corneas from Sri Lanka, but there were no details as to how much the deals were worth.
Chinese President Hu Jintao said he had "high praise" for Sri Lanka's efforts at building bilateral ties. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang also expressed China's support for the Sri Lankan government in its long-running civil war with the Tamil Tiger rebels.
"As a friendly neighbour of Sri Lanka, China has been closely following the internal situation there," Qin told a regular news conference.
"We support the efforts made by the Sri Lankan government for the stability of the country, harmony of the nation, and the development of the economy and society. We hope Sri Lanka can become peaceful and stable as soon as possible," he said.
Rajapakse's visit comes as the Tigers shelled army helicopters carrying a delegation of diplomats while they visited the island's restive east on Tuesday, the latest incident in a wave of renewed violence that has killed about 4,000 people in the past 15 months. The diplomats escaped serious injury.
Sri Lanka also turned the tables on China, which routinely hands out pandas as a gesture of goodwill in its diplomacy, by offering the gift of a five-year-old elephant named Migara, who was settling into his new home at the Beijing Zoo.
The eight agreements included a memorandum of understanding on investment promotion and a memorandum on the donation of eye corneas from Sri Lanka, but there were no details as to how much the deals were worth.
Chinese President Hu Jintao said he had "high praise" for Sri Lanka's efforts at building bilateral ties. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang also expressed China's support for the Sri Lankan government in its long-running civil war with the Tamil Tiger rebels.
"As a friendly neighbour of Sri Lanka, China has been closely following the internal situation there," Qin told a regular news conference.
"We support the efforts made by the Sri Lankan government for the stability of the country, harmony of the nation, and the development of the economy and society. We hope Sri Lanka can become peaceful and stable as soon as possible," he said.
Rajapakse's visit comes as the Tigers shelled army helicopters carrying a delegation of diplomats while they visited the island's restive east on Tuesday, the latest incident in a wave of renewed violence that has killed about 4,000 people in the past 15 months. The diplomats escaped serious injury.
Sri Lanka also turned the tables on China, which routinely hands out pandas as a gesture of goodwill in its diplomacy, by offering the gift of a five-year-old elephant named Migara, who was settling into his new home at the Beijing Zoo.
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