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China’s ethnic affairs minister to visit Sri Lanka
A top-level Chinese delegation led by China’s minister in charge of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission will visit Sri Lanka from February 19 to 23.
The delegation head, Minister Pan Yue, will hold talks with Sri Lankan counterparts on topics related to ethnic harmony and reconciliation efforts, Foreign Ministry sources said.
A key member of President Xi Jinping’s Cabinet, Mr. Pan is tasked with handling China’s minority affairs. He became a full member of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Committee in June last year.
While on a week-long official visit here, the Chinese minister is scheduled to hold talks with officials at the Ministry of Justice and National Integration and the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs—the two key portfolios that are tasked with fostering ethnic harmony and reconciliation efforts under the National Peoples’ Power (NPP) government.
Minister Pan is also scheduled to visit Kandy during his visit. As China’s ethnic policy chief, Mr. Pan counters Western reportage on the alleged assimilation programme in Xinjiang, a Uygur autonomous region in China, saying such portrayals contradict historical facts.
Meanwhile, China continues to make inroads in Sri Lanka’s North with more livelihood assistance programmes.
Zhu Yanwei, Charge d’affaires of the Chinese embassy in Colombo, is scheduled to visit Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Jaffna and Mannar districts today and tomorrow to distribute 2,470 food packages worth Rs 16 million to the people affected by recent floods.
“Our support for the Sri Lankan people, especially the people of the Northern Province, has never ceased. When Sri Lanka suffered from severe flooding in 2024, China extended a helping hand in a timely manner, providing emergency humanitarian materials worth Rs. 400 million and making a donation of Rs. 30 million to the government as emergency flood relief with the aim of assisting those affected,” an embassy spokesperson said.
Last year, the Chinese government supported both Northern and Eastern regions by providing Rs. 1.5 billion worth of essential supplies, including housing units, rice, and fishing nets.
Another Rs 12 million worth of livelihood assistance was given to affected people when Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong visited the North in November last year.
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