China is committed to friendly ties with Myanmar, Xi Jinping tells Aung San Suu Kyi
Meeting in Beijing comes amid flurry of exchanges between the two countries
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday said Beijing was committed to maintaining friendly ties with Myanmar, as global condemnation of the Southeast Asian nation mounts over its brutal crackdown on the Rohingya Muslims.
Xi made the remarks when he met Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s state counsellor and foreign minister, who is in Beijing for a meeting between the Chinese Communist Party and political parties from other nations that runs until Sunday.
The meeting between the two leaders was the latest in a flurry of exchanges between the two countries in recent weeks as Beijing tries to secure its investment interests in Myanmar.
“China will maintain its friendly ties with Myanmar as it has in the past, and will see the China-Myanmar relationship from a wider, strategic point of view,” Xi was quoted as saying by state news agency Xinhua. “China is willing to work with Myanmar to ensure the development of ... relations stay on the correct path.”
More than 620,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since August to escape conflict with Myanmar’s military. The West has accused Myanmar’s government of “ethnic cleansing” and strongly criticised Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi for not stopping the violence.
