Xi Jinping in Sri Lanka to promote China-funded port

President Xi Jinping will land in Columbo, Sri Lanka today to promote the “Colombo Port City” project, an RMB8.62 billion (USD$1.4 billion) Chinese-financed endeavor that is the country’s largest foreign-funded investment on record, Bloomberg reported. China overtook the US last year as Sri Lanka’s second largest trading partner after India. Xi unveiled plans last year to build a “maritime Silk Road”, and travels to India tomorrow to promote the project. Xi’s visit comes shortly after a stopover from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was seeking to increase Japanese investement on the island.