The president made the comments during a courtesy call by Vice Chairman of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Chen Xianoguang. The meeting was held at the President’s Office on Sunday morning. CPPCC is a multiparty cooperation and political consultation organisation. Speaking at the meeting, the president underscored 43 years of close relations that exist between the Maldives and China and expressed his hope for further strengthening the bilateral relations between both countries in the future. The president also highlighted that China was among the top contributors to the development of different sectors in the Maldives, and stated that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the Maldives last year has boosted cooperation between the two countries. “Moreover, the president expressed his confidence for continuous mutual respect, trust and support between the Maldives and China in the future,” a statement issued by the President’s Office after the meeting read. At the meeting, President Yameen emphasised that Maldives and China had displayed the paradigm of how big and small countries could work together towards mutual benefit, and held discussions on areas of mutual interest. The President said that China has vastly contributed in the development of Maldives’ tourism by being the biggest patron in the area. “He further expressed his hopes for Maldives to continue to be a favourite tourism destination among Chinese people,” the statement read. Speaking at the meeting, the Vice Chairman of CPPCC Chen Xianoguang said China-Maldives relationship is at its best now. Xianoguang assured President Yameen of China’s continuous assistance to the Maldives, and of respect to the government and people of the Maldives. The president’s comments come in light of recent efforts by the Maldives to to bolster its ties, especially in investment and trade, with India as well as rival China. China is funding several infrastructure projects across the Maldives. Delivery of the government’s vital electoral pledges, including the building of a bridge between capital Male and the airport island of Hulhule and the development of the country’s main international airport, also hinges on soft loans being considered by Beijing. Chinese businesses, mostly state owned corporations, have recently forayed into the Maldives with investments in areas such as the Maldives’ upmarket luxury tourism industry. The Maldives also held its second investment forum in the Chinese capital early last month. The close relations between the Maldives and China have come at the expense of its ties with neighbours, especially India, which worries that China was flexing its arms in its traditional clout of control. Despite the recent attempts at improving ties with rival China, the Maldives has embarked on a mission to ramp up its long standing relationship with its closes neighbour, India. The recent thaw saw the visit of India’s top diploma Sushma Swaraj to the Maldives and the restarting of a joint commission after a 15-year hiatus earlier this month. In Male, Swaraj was told by President Yameen that the Maldives has a policy of "India First”. Ties between the Maldives and India are on the mend after reaching its lowest point following the premature termination in 2013 of the agreement with Indian infrastructure giant GMR, which had been managing the country’s main international airport since 2011. In light of the abrupt termination of the GMR agreement, New Delhi took extraordinary measures including the tightening of visa for Maldivian medical tourists and banning the sale of construction aggregate to Maldivian vendors. The Maldives does not give a rosy outlook for Indian companies that have faced several bureaucratic and political hurdles. Most of the Indian companies doing business in the Maldives had been forced out of the country over the past five years. The most high-profile such case relates to the subsequent eviction of GMR, which in 2010 won an international bid to manage the Maldives main international airport, by the Maldives government in 2012. Other Indian companies including Tatva, which had won a contract in 2010 to manage the waste of capital Male, and real estate giant Tata Housing have faced many obstacles, with some leaving the Maldives entirely. However, the Maldives now appears eager to court back Indian investors. At talks held during Swaraj’s recent visit to the Maldives, the Maldivian side reiterated its interest in engaging with private investors in India for iHavan and Hulhulmale Youth City projects. Sectors such as tourism, fisheries, education, IT, infrastructure development, energy cooperation including renewable energy, and traditional medicine were also identified for future cooperation. India, meanwhile, has publicly sided with the Maldives government over the continued imprisonment of the country’s former president Mohamed Nasheed, an issue central to the Maldives’ relationship with its international partners. Nasheed’s lawyers are pushing for targeted sanctions on top Maldivian officials. India, however, opposes such action.