Airport sources confirmed that Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena departed for China last night for a five-day official visit.
According to reports, the Prime Minister accepted a special invitation from the Chinese government to undertake this visit.
One of the key agenda items during this trip is to negotiate an agreement on restructuring the loans provided to Sri Lanka by China, payments for which have been temporarily suspended.
Accompanying the Prime Minister are 10 other Sri Lankan delegates.
The Prime Minister and his delegation boarded China Eastern Airlines flight MU-232 from the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) at 8:20 p.m. last evening.