China's departing ambassador hails 'everlasting friendship' as he leaves Sri Lanka

China's ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong, is leaving the island after nearly six years, marking his departure with an effusive farewell hailing an "everlasting friendship" between the two countries, in a tenure that saw Beijing deepen its economic and strategic grip on the island even as the scale of Colombo's debt to China, and Beijing's role in shielding it from accountability, drew mounting scrutiny.