Sri Lankan 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

China was once seen as having the upper hand in Sri Lanka through its huge loans and infrastructure investments. While China remains the country's largest bilateral lender, Sri Lanka's economic collapse provided an opportunity for India, which stepped in with massive financial and material assistance including food, fuel and medicines.

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.