On January 12, 2026 local time, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a stopover in Sri Lanka on his way back from a trip to Africa and held a friendly meeting with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath.

Wang Yi stated that China and Sri Lanka enjoy a time-honored tradition of friendship. Last year, President Xi Jinping had a successful meeting with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, providing new strategic guidance for bilateral relations. China feels for Sri Lanka over the recent devastating cyclone disaster and has extended a helping hand at the earliest opportunity. China believes that the Sri Lankan people will overcome the disaster at an early date, rebuild their home, and make greater development achievements. China is ready to carry out exchanges of governance experience with Sri Lanka, expand practical cooperation in various fields, facilitate friendly exchanges between the two peoples, continuously deepen the strategic cooperative partnership based on sincere mutual assistance and everlasting friendship between China and Sri Lanka, and jointly build a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future.

Wang Yi said that in the face of an increasingly complex and volatile international situation, China will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, especially small and medium-sized countries, resolutely uphold the purposes of the United Nations Charter and international law, and work with like-minded countries to oppose the resurgence of the law of the jungle, resist all forms of power politics and bullying acts, and defend multilateralism and international justice. China appreciates Sri Lanka's long-standing commitment to the one-China principle and is willing to continue supporting Sri Lanka in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions. The two sides can also strengthen regional cooperation oriented toward South Asia and jointly promote the building of a more just and equitable global governance system.

Vijitha Herath thanked China for its valuable support to Sri Lanka after the cyclone disaster, which helped Sri Lanka tide over the difficult times. He said Sri Lanka and China enjoy a traditional friendship. Sri Lanka regards China as its most reliable strategic partner and is willing to maintain close high-level exchanges with China, deepen exchanges and cooperation in such areas as infrastructure, maritime affairs, tourism, and culture, and continuously enhance the Sri Lanka-China strategic cooperative partnership. Sri Lanka adheres to the one-China principle and firmly supports China's efforts to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Sri Lanka stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with China in multilateral fields to jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.