PM’s China visit: Two-timing diplomacy for Indo-China investments
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April 9, 2016, 8:48 pm 
Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe and Chinese President, Xi Jinping sha ke hands before their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 8, 2016.KENZABURO FUKUHARA / POOL / AFP
by Rajan Philips
It is not that the world is watching Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to China. The political world is preoccupied with the Panama Papers and the unfolding saga of the estimated US$21-trillion unreported private financial wealth hidden in the world’s tax free treasure islands. The curious cats in Sri Lanka are sniffing for traces of Sri Lankan rupees that may have trickled into this global loot. Deputy Minister Eran Wickremaratne has stoked Sri Lankan curiosity by alluding to the potential presence of Sri Lankan shell companies in the Republic of Seychelles, the East African archipelago in the Indian Ocean. If indeed there are Sri Lankan shell companies in Seychelles, it would be interesting to see whether they had any connection to the shell diplomatic initiatives that Sri Lanka launched in East Africa during the previous regime, ostensibly to garner votes for the UNHRC sessions in Geneva. But there is nothing ‘shell’ about the Prime Minister’s visit to China. It is real diplomacy, and going beyond government-to-government relationship, the Prime Minister is also initiating a liaison between the United National Party and the Chinese Communist Party. Where does that leave the SLFP in Sri Lanka, and which faction of the SLFP?
If I am not mistaken, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’s current visit to China could be the first official visit to that country by a UNP Prime Minister. It is also perhaps the first time that a Sri Lankan government has to transparently balance its overtures to and relationships with China and India at the same time. This transparent even handedness seems to be a natural trait in Mr. Wickremesinghe, who last year described Sri Lanka’s position as being "neither pro-India nor pro-China". Both the Indian and the Chinese media are highlighting that principle in their commentaries on the Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s current visit to China. The Indian media has also quoted a spokesperson for the Sri Lankan President commenting on the importance of keeping both China and India in good humour – and according to the same source the Chinese Port City project in Colombo and the Economic and Technical Co-operation Agreement (ETCA) with India are Sri Lanka’s quid pro quos vis-a-vis the two Asian giants. But there is no humour among the local opponents of either initiative, and it is quite remarkable that the opposition to the two initiatives emanates from very different social and political strata in the country.
