Ceylon tea, biscuits, wine and other Sri Lankan products adorned a booth at the Chinese International Import Expo in November, as Palitha Kohona did his best to sell his country’s exports to more than 300,000 viewers on his live-streaming debut.
The Sri Lankan ambassador to China faced a language barrier and was visibly uneasy at first, having forgotten that he had agreed to host the broadcast. But the audience flooded the comment section with welcomes, especially after Chinese live-streamer Zora Liu Meixi encouraged him to wave at the camera and told him how to say “Hello my Chinese friends” in Mandarin.