Quite a number of Chinese ceramics were found, providing significant evidence of trade links between Sri Lanka and China.
The excavated artefacts in Kayts, Jaffna, are mainly Chinese ceramics, accompanied by a few local and Southeast or South Asian pottery. The Chinese ware can be dated to the second half of the 11th century and early 12th century, during the rule of the Northern Song dynasty in China, Chinese archaeologist Chen Jie told Kelum Bandara of Daily Mirror..
In an official statement, India said: “We condole the loss of lives in this dastardly attack. There can be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism. The perpetrators of this heinous attack should be brought to justice expeditiously,” said an official statement issued by the ministry.
It added that “such terrorist attacks only strengthens the resolve of the international community to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
“The trade imbalance between China and the Maldives is so huge that nobody would think of an FTA between such parties,” said Mohamed Nasheed, the chief of the Maldivian Democratic Party, which leads the ruling federal alliance. “China is not buying anything from us. It is a one-way treaty.”
The US-led IMF had threatened to ask Pakistan to cut down on projects linked to the China-funded multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which Washington describes as a “debt trap”, and the Trump administration had clearly stated that it will not disburse funds to help Pakistan if the objective is basically to repay its debt to China, thus forcing Pakistan to look out for financial packages from Saudi Arabia and China.
“We are closely following the changes in the situation in Sri Lanka. The changes in Sri Lanka are internal affairs. We believe the Sri Lankan Government, political parties and people have enough wisdom to deal with the internal situation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.
The bridge, which connects Hong Kong and Macau with mainland China, is 55 km long and six lanes wide. The project is aimed at bringing these three places closer by reducing the journey time to just about an hour long. Reportedly built using more steel than as many as 60 Eiffel Towers, the multi-billion dollar project has been touted as the result of an international collaboration.
China has said that it supports the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in carrying out an objective and professional evaluation of Pakistan’s financial situation, adding that the relevant measures should not affect normal bilateral cooperation between China and Pakistan.
India and China launched a program on Monday to train Afghan diplomats and China’s ambassador said it would likely be followed by joint programs in other fields to help war-torn Afghanistan.
The Chinese built China-Maldives Friendship Bridge connecting capital Malé with the Airport Island, which was opened about a month ago, has made travel easier and added new dimensions to local peoples‘ lives, say Xinhua journalisrs Tang Lu and Du Cailiang.
China, in its statement, said that since Pakistan didn’t agree with India on this issue, there is no “consensus” between the two directly affected parties. Beijing made it clear that China will support the issue only if Pakistan agrees with India. “If all parties come to a consensus, we will support it. But it is the parties that are rightly concerned who are not coming around to the same conclusion, like India and Pakistan don’t have the same conclusions,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on on Friday.
