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The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI) recently hosted a discussion on ‘China’s Role in the Global Economy and International Relations,’ with a visiting delegation of academics and officials from China.

The delegation included Dr. Rong Ying, Vice President and Senior Fellow for the China Institute of International Studies; Prof. Zhu Caihua, Deputy Director for the Institute of International Trade Studies, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation; Prof. Ye Hailin, Director of the Centre for South Asia Studies of the National Institute of International Strategy for the the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Mr. Zhang Zhixin, Counsellor of the Department of Asian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs China; Mr. Luo Chong, Chief of Political Section of the Embassy of China in Sri Lanka;  and Ms. Qin Wenci, Second Secretary to the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China. The delegation was in Colombo, Sri Lanka to attend the International Zone Forum on the 5th Anniversary of the Belt and Road.

The discussion focused on several pressing foreign policy issues including, the implications of China’s growth moderation and restructuring for Asia, developments in the US-China trade conflict and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Belt and Road Initiative, regional security challenges and Sri Lanka’s outlook for 2019.

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja, Executive Director of LKI. Radhika de Silva, Deputy Director and Divya Hundlani, Research Fellow also participated in the discussion.