Addressing a group of journalists recently, he said a new milestone was reached as the Communist Party of China held the Third Plenary Session of its 20th Central Committee.

It comprehensively deployed reforms in various fields and aspects with the economic system reform as the traction and put forward more than 300 important reforms, laying out a grand blueprint and systematic plans for further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernisation.

He said the next five years will be significant for China, as the session has explicitly requested that “The reform tasks laid out in this resolution shall be completed by the time China celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2029”.

“Sri Lanka is also entering a pivotal five-year period, with the Presidential Election scheduled for this year. Both countries are at a new starting point, which heralds greater opportunities for cooperation,” he said.