The leader of Sri Lanka's third largest party on Thursday expressed good wishes to the 17th national congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) scheduled to be held in mid-October.

"We extend our fraternal greetings to this congress," Somawansa Amarasinghe, the leader of the JVP (People's Liberation Front) told a gathering organized by the Sri Lanka-China Friendship Foundation to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"We admire the great achievements of the heroic people of China, led by the CPC, during the past 58 years. If not for their dedication these achievements would have been unthinkable," Amarasinghe said.

He also hoped that China will show the global community its unity and the strength of organization in 2008 during the Beijing Olympics.

Vijitha Herath, chairman of the Sri Lanka-China Friendship Foundation said Sri Lankans are proud to say their country was among the first few countries to commence diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

"Even a small island, Sri Lanka is greatly relieved to have a powerful neighbor like China. Our hope is that the People's Republic of China would stay further as a confident friend as she has been," Herath said.

China's Ambassador to Sri Lanka Ye Dabo said the year 2007, which witnesses developments of friendship one after another, is indeed a milestone in the time-honored relations between the two countries.

"I sincerely hope that the traditional friendship between China and Sri Lanka will be further enriched by more cooperation in a host of fields such as politics, economy and trade, culture, education and tourism," said Ye.

(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2007)