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Chandrika to

visit China

COLOMBO: President Chandrika Kumaratunga of Sri Lanka will leave for Beijing at the weekend to make an official visit to China, official sources here said on Thursday.

The invitation was made during a visit to Beijing last year by Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, officials said, adding that the president was likely to visit Japan next month.

China is one of Sri Lanka's key suppliers of small arms while Japan is the largest single donor of aid to the country.-AFP