Sri Lanka Aiming for China Trade Deal in 2017, Official Says

Sri Lanka aims to finalise a free trade agreement (FTA) with China later this year, said the country’s ambassador to Beijing last weekend. The two Asian economies have been negotiating a trade deal since 2014. Sri Lankan ambassador Karunasena Kodituwakku also confirmed to journalists in the Chinese capital city that his country’s prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, will visit Beijing in May to continue high-level FTA discussions, according to comments reported by Reuters. The two sides have held four negotiating rounds to date. When the trade talks launched nearly three years ago, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) affirmed that the future accord aimed to “contribute to further deepening bilateral economic and trade relations, and accord with the benefits of the two countries.” According to a joint feasibility study issued in 2014, the two sides aim to address areas such as tariffs and non-tariff measures, rules of origin, customs procedures, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade. They will also cover various aspects of services trade, along with addressing issues related to investment and economic and technological cooperation, including e-commerce and small and medium-sized enterprises. The report also suggested that the deal could be a boon both in terms...