Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Power and Energy and China’s Sinopec Corporation have signed an agreement to build an oil refinery in Hambantota with an investment of USD 3

BEIJING (Reuters) -China and Sri Lanka agreed on more investment and economic cooperation on Wednesday as China's President Xi Jinping met recently-elected Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Beijing.

Dissanayake incidentally was a critic of the Hambantota port deal for its long-term lease while he was in the opposition.It was seen as a balancing act as last year India and Sri Lanka inked a deal to jointly develop 85 Word War II-era oil storage tanks at the strategic Trincomalee port in the eastern region of the country.

Sri Lanka’s Marxist-leaning President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, one month after visiting India on his first overseas trip since winning election in September.

Sri Lanka has signed the agreement for the Hajj pilgrimage – 2025, recently in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

According to a press release by the Sri Lankan President's media division, his visit marked a “significant milestone” by securing the largest foreign direct investment to date of $3.7 billion Chinese investment to build a state-of-the-art oil refinery at Hambantota.