Dhaka, May 4 -- Sri Lanka's government pledged closer ties on Thursday with Communist parties in China and India, two regional powers competing for influence in the small but strategically important nation.The leftist government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake held its first May Day rally with special guests from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Communist parties in India.CCP official Peng Xiubin told the mass rally in Colombo that his party had been working closely with Dissanayake's JVP, or People's Liberation Front."We will make China-Sri Lanka relations even stronger," the Chinese official said.JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said he hoped cooperation with China would help address rural poverty."China has done tremendous...