Harmonization to Exceptionalism: The Trajectory of Post-Civil War Sino-Sri Lankan Relations

Abstract

The article engages in a critical reading of the political pattern of Sino-Sri Lankan bilateral engagement. China offers an alternate global order for Sri Lanka by underscoring political discourses like “harmonious world” and “building a community with a shared destiny or future for mankind.” Through these discourses, China attempts to present a “fair and equitable” international system to small states such as Sri Lanka to mobilize them against the universalization of the liberal order. This is part of China's goal to challenge the universalization of liberal values to indicate the Chinese economic and political model as aspirational for developing countries. However, it culminates as the “hegemony of harmony,” as China dictates the terms to protect its national interests, dissimulating cultural relativism and exceptionalism as the foundation of the Chinese-led global order. This article employs historical and descriptive analysis to explain the political nature of Sino-Sri Lankan engagement, elucidating China's specific strategies to harmonize Sri Lanka.