"The port city will continue to actively assume ecological responsibility for underwater afforestation and build a smart, livable, and environmentally friendly city of the future," Zhao said.

"I have always been a practitioner of building a maritime community with a shared future. Thanks to the Chinese standards, technologies and solutions adopted by the port city project, outstanding contributions have been made to the protection of Sri Lanka's marine biodiversity and ecological environment," Piyal said.

Xinhua