According to an official readout by China’s foreign ministry, Qin described the two countries as “brothers who share the same mountain and water”, and said China was ready to promote the comprehensive strategic cooperation promised by President Xi Jinping during a 2020 state visit.

“China sincerely hopes for Myanmar’s stability and development, supports Myanmar in exploring its development path that is in line with its national conditions and with Myanmar’s characteristics,” Qin was quoted as saying.

He also pledged Beijing’s support for Myanmar’s pursuit of political transformation and efforts by all relevant parties to “properly settle their differences and seek national reconciliation under the constitutional and legal framework”.

“China advocates that the international community respect Myanmar’s sovereignty and play a constructive role for Myanmar to achieve peace and reconciliation,” Qin said.

China would continue to “provide help to Myanmar’s development within its capabilities”, speed up investment linked to the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, and implement projects in agriculture, education and healthcare, Qin told his host.

The Chinese readout did not include a quote from Qin in a Burmese-language statement from the junta’s information team that said China “stands with Myanmar on the international stage”, according to Agence France-Presse.

Qin’s predecessor, Wang Yi, visited Myanmar in July last year to co-chair a regional gathering of foreign ministers of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism, but he failed to secure a meeting with Min Aung Hlaing.

China has refused to condemn the military takeover and remains a major ally and arms supplier of the internationally isolated junta in the wake of Western sanctions.

Beijing’s previous pledges to help safeguard Myanmar’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity “no matter how the situation changes” have been widely criticised by Myanmar’s armed opposition as tacit support for the military rulers.

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The junta’s dependence on Beijing has increased – China is Myanmar’s largest trading partner and its second-largest foreign investor after Singapore since the country’s democratically elected government was toppled.

Since the coup, Chinese factories and projects have been specifically targeted by armed resistance groups in Myanmar.

In a message to Myanmar’s junta regime during an inspection tour of the frontier province of Yunnan on Tuesday, Qin said it was important to maintain stable borders with Myanmar and “severely” crack down on cross-border criminal activities.

During their meeting hours later, Min Aung Hlaing hailed China’s “objective and impartial stance” on Myanmar-related issues and pledged that Myanmar would work to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in the country.

Myanmar was “willing to cooperate with China to maintain tranquillity in the border areas of the two countries”, he was quoted as saying in the Chinese readout.

Xu Liping, director of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Qin’s visit was mainly about maintaining peace and stability along the China-Myanmar border.

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“It is in China’s interests to engage with Myanmar’s military regime, but this kind of dialogue does not mean China supports the junta, nor does it imply any change in China’s stance on the Myanmar issue,” Xu said.

“The trip was aimed at enhancing communication and coordination with the Myanmar authorities on issues such as stability along the China-Myanmar border and combating transnational crime, which directly affect China’s security interests,” he said.

In recent months, China has increased its engagement with the junta. China’s special envoy for Asian affairs Deng Xijun has met Min Aung Hlaing at least twice since December.

Deng also held separate meetings with leaders of ethnic armed groups in the north, particularly in Shan and Kachin states bordering Yunnan province.

Yunnan’s Communist Party boss Wang Ning and Peng Xiubin, a senior official at the International Liaison Department, also visited Myanmar last month. According to the Irrawaddy news portal, Wang also met Min Aung Hlaing, but his request to meet imprisoned former state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi was denied.

Despite the warming ties with Myanmar’s military regime, Xu said Beijing still had reservations about officially recognising the junta.

“China has not explicitly recognised Myanmar’s military government in public so far. Instead, Beijing has tried to forge normal relations between the two countries, regardless of who is in power,” he said.

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Final footage shot by Japanese journalist killed in Myanmar unveiled 15 years later

Final footage shot by Japanese journalist killed in Myanmar unveiled 15 years later

Xu said China – which has had to endure Myanmar’s protracted instability and violence – would continue to help the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) mediate Myanmar’s peace and transformation process.

However, Asean has remained divided over Myanmar, which many have seen as a sign of weakness in the regional bloc’s ability to tackle such a regional crisis on its doorstep.

“There’s a consensus among many countries in the region, including China, that it would be unrealistic to find solutions to the Myanmar issue without engaging the military,” Xu said.