国内英语新闻:China, Sri Lanka launch FTA talks

BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- China and Sri Lanka have begun negotiating a deal that would see favorable policies for trade between the countries, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) told Xinhua late on Wednesday.

Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng and Sri Lankan Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa have signed a memorandum on the launch of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations in Colombo, marking the official launch of the talks, said the MOC, without saying when the document was signed.

In the memorandum, the two sides have confirmed that the FTA would cover trade of goods and services, investment and economic and technological cooperation.

The negotiations were launched more than a year after a feasibility study was started in Beijing.

China-Sri Lanka trade volume has kept growing in recent years, and China has become Sri Lanka's second-largest trade partner and source of import. In 2013, trade between the two countries amounted to 3.62 billion U.S. dollars, up 14.3 percent year on year.

The news came a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his visit to Sri Lanka, called on the two countries to accelerate their FTA negotiations.