Xi calls for closer China-Myanmar ties

Top Chinese leader hails bilateral friendship in congratulatory letter to Suu Kyi

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, sent a letter on Nov 16 to Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy, or NLD, congratulating her party’s success in securing a majority in the country’s general elections.

The ruling NLD party won 920 seats, an absolute majority in the elections held on Nov 8, according to the final result announced by the Union Election Commission on Nov 15, Xinhua reported.

In his letter, Xi said he is glad to hear that Myanmar has held its general elections successfully and that she led her party in achieving good results, as he extended sincere congratulations to her and the Myanmar people.

Xi said it is believed that under Suu Kyi’s leadership, the NLD will certainly make greater achievements in the cause of realizing prosperity and strength for the country.

China and Myanmar are good neighbors geographically linked by mountains and rivers, and this year, the two countries celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations, Xi said when noting his successful state visit to Myanmar at the beginning of this year.

During the visit, the two sides agreed to build the China-Myanmar community with a shared future, which Xi said ushers in a new era of China-Myanmar relations.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the two parties and both countries have supported and helped each other, using practical actions to honor the spirit of a community with a shared future, which means sharing weal and woe and helping each other in the same boat, according to Xi.

The close and friendly exchanges between the Communist Party of China and the NLD have played an important role in the healthy and stable growth of relations between the two countries, Xi said, adding that China attaches great importance to the development of ties between the two parties and between the two nations.

Xi said that he is ready to make joint efforts with Myanmar’s leader to strengthen political guidance over the relations between the two parties and between the two countries, deepen exchanges and mutual learning between the two parties, and promote cooperation in various fields within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.

Also, Xi said he would like to work with her to promote the China-Myanmar community with a shared future to achieve fruitful results and better benefit the two countries.

At a daily news conference in Beijing on Nov 17, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China has always supported the Myanmar people in choosing a development path that suits their own national conditions, and that it supports the general elections there.