Xi pledges support for Myanmar
Meeting demonstrates China’s ‘sincerity in boosting relations’
President Xi Jinping on Friday pledged to promote the China-Myanmar comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and bring more tangible benefits to the people of both countries.
Xi made the remarks during a meeting with Myanmar’s State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, who began a five-day official visit to China on Wednesday.
Xi called for more attention to cooperation in the areas that benefit people’s livelihoods more directly, such as agriculture, water conservation, education and healthcare, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.
His meeting with Suu Kyi, who ranks second only to the president, demonstrates China’s sincerity to keep friendly ties and advance cooperation with Myanmar, Zhuang Guotu, head of the Center of Southeast Asian Studies at Xiamen University, told the Global Times.
Xi welcomed Suu Kyi’s visit and praised her efforts to advance the China-Myanmar friendship, saying that China stands ready to work with Myanmar to ensure the two peoples will always be good neighbors, friends, brothers and partners.
He pointed out that China will support Myanmar’s choice of development path and its efforts to safeguard national stability, promote economic growth, and maintain social harmony.
In order to develop bilateral ties, the Chinese president called on the two sides to strengthen political guidance.
“China stands ready to maintain high-level contact and people-to-people exchanges with Myanmar as well as enhance communication and mutual trust,” Xi said.
The two countries should also integrate their development strategies, he said, adding that China appreciates Myanmar’s support for China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative.
China is willing to promote connectivity projects with Myanmar and boost bilateral cooperation in major areas such as energy and finance, he said, highlighting the importance of smooth operations of ongoing large-scale projects.
“China will continue to play a constructive role in promoting Myanmar’s peace process, and make joint efforts with Myanmar to safeguard peace and stability along the border between the two nations,” he said.
Echoing Xi’s remarks, Suu Kyi said Myanmar values the deep “pauk phaw” – “fraternal” in the Myanmar language – friendship between the two countries, and thanked China for its support for Myanmar’s economic and social development.
Myanmar is ready to maintain close high-level exchanges, strengthen the friendship between the two peoples, and enhance mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, she said.
Peace talks
Suu Kyi expects China to support historic peace talks with armed groups near the countries’ troubled joint border, she was quoted by AFP as saying on Friday.
“We do believe that as a good neighbor China will do everything possible to promote our peace process,” Suu Kyi told reporters in Beijing ahead of her meeting with Xi.
“China, as a neighbor which shares a very important border along which there are many ethnic armed groups, is important in its goodwill,” she said.
As one of the priorities during her visit, she attempted to seek China’s help in resolving its decade-long ethnic conflicts, Zhuang noted.
Myanmar will hold the long-planned 21st Century Panglong Conference, a peace conference, at the end of this month involving the Myanmar government, the military and ethnic armed groups.
“If you ask me what my most important aim is for my country, that is to achieve peace and unity among the different peoples of our union,” Suu Kyi said.
Several complex ethnic conflicts – with some groups fighting the government for decades – simmer across Myanmar’s poor and militarized borderlands, hampering efforts to build up the country’s economy after the end of junta rule, AFP reported.