Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi meets Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar as Beijing takes proactive approach to country’s new government
Visit comes as Beijing seeks to bolster ties and restart stalled infrastructure projects
Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Myanmar counterpart Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw on Tuesday, as part of a trip Beijing says shows its proactive approach to improving ties with the country.
The two foreign ministers met for about an hour in the country’s capital. Afterwards, Suu Kyi said that Wang’s visit, so soon after her party took the reins of government, was “an expression of friendliness between the two countries”.
“The relationship between our two countries socially and economically is very important as we are neighbours,” she told a joint press conference.
“Our government policy is to have friendly cooperation with the whole world and I hope our neighbouring countries will join hands with us in implementing our work on peace and human development.”
Despite Myanmar dam blockage, China confident about ties with Suu Kyi government
Their talks came as Chinese state-controlled commodity trader Guangdong Zhenrong Energy won approval from the Myanmar Investment Committee to build a US$3 billion refinery in the southeast coastal city of Dawei in partnership with local parties. The refinery will have a capacity of 100,000 barrels-per-day.