Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said Chinese President Xi Jinping surprised his Sri Lankan counterpart Maithripala Sirisena during their recent meeting with the proposal.
"Xi said why don't we get India to work with us, which was seized upon by President Sirisena, who said that would be the best possible outcome. Both presidents agreed that India should be part of the equation," Karunanayake told Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
After the defeat of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa in January polls, China mooted the trilateral cooperation among the three countries.
India is apprehensive about the China-backed Maritime Silk Road (MSR) initiative, and its implications for India's security.
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It is also sensitive to China's growing engagement in its neighbourhood, especially after two Chinese submarines were allowed to dock in Colombo last year by Rajapaksa.
Karunanayake, who was part of the Sri Lankan delegation to China, said the Chinese company involved in the controversial USD 1.5-billion Colombo Port City project has failed to produce necessary documents to run it within the two-week deadline set by the new government.
"They run full-page advertisements in newspapers justifying their actions, but when we tell them to submit documents, they draw a blank," Karunanayake said.
President Sirisena's new government suspended the 233-hectare land-reclamation project this month alleging large-scale irregularities.