China, Sri Lanka could sign free trade pact

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister GL Peiris has indicated that China and Sri Lanka could sign a free trade pact by the end of the year, stating on Wednesday that “the feasibility study is on the verge of completion,” Reuters reported. Peiris also said that this could be the most significant deal between the two countries since the 1952 Rubber-Rice Pact, when rubber and rice was battered between them. China has signed a series of free trade agreements, mostly with smaller economies like New Zealand, Switzerland and Iceland, though it is negotiating more significant ones with Australia, South Korea and Japan.