Xi pledges support for Myanmar peace
Print Edition
PRESIDENT Xi Jinping told Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday that China would continue to help the country achieve peace and called for both sides to maintain stability on their shared border.
Fighting in Myanmar in March pushed thousands of people into China to seek refuge, prompting Beijing to call for a cease-fire between ethnic militias and the security forces there and carry out military drills along the border.
Xi met Nobel laureate Suu Kyi following China’s Belt and Road Forum on Sunday and Monday.
“China is willing to continue to provide necessary assistance for Myanmar’s internal peace process,” Xi said. “The two sides must jointly work to safeguard China-Myanmar border security and stability.”
Xi noted that the two countries had a deeply rooted friendship and extensive common interests, and the two sides had reached important consensus on all-round strategic cooperation during President U Htin Kyaw’s visit to China last month.
He said China and Myanmar should boost their ties and advance the construction of key projects, economic corridors, economic zones and infrastructure.
China has repeatedly expressed concern about fighting along the border that has occasionally spilled into its territory, for instance in 2015, when five people died in China.
Xi also said China would work to enhance cooperation with Myanmar on his Belt and Road development plan, which aims to expand infrastructure between Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond.
On Sunday, the president promised US$124 billion to expand the reach of the initiative during the two-day summit of world leaders in Beijing.
Suu Kyi told Xi that Myanmar was grateful for Chinese help and that it would work with China to safeguard stability in the border region.
Last month, China offered to mediate in a diplomatic row over the flight of around 69,000 minority Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh to escape violence in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, according to officials from Bangladesh.
In a separate meeting with Suu Kyi yesterday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged an early cease-fire in northern Myanmar to ensure peace on the border.
Li said that China supports the second meeting of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference to be hosted by Myanmar. The meeting is an inclusive dialogue designed to be open to all armed groups.
On joint projects, Li called for steady progress of oil pipelines, ports, and economic zones.
He also demanded proper handling of the Myitsone hydropower station to “guide cooperation expectation and boost confidence.”
The project on the Ayeyawaddy River began in December 2009 but was suspended by the previous government in 2011.
With an installed capacity of 6,000 megawatts, the project was designed to yield 29,400 million kilowatt-hours a year on completion by 2019.
Suu Kyi is barred from the presidency under Myanmar’s constitution, but effectively leads the government through the specially created post of “state counsellor.”
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