Andrea Chen
South China Morning Post
June 12, 2015
Xi Jinping says he hopes for good ties regardless of ‘changes in Myanmar’s situation’ after election.
President Xi Jinping welcomes Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Beijing yesterday.Photo: Reuters
Despites strained ties, Beijing has called on Myanmar to keep relations between the two neighbours on a stable footing no matter how the domestic situation unfolds in the Southeast Asian nation after Myanmar’s general election later this year.
The comment was made by President Xi Jinping , also the general secretary of the Communist Party of China, as he met Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Beijing yesterday, Xinhua said.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is on a five-day visit to China in her capacity as chairwoman of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD). She will visit Shanghai and Yunnan province, which shares a nearly 2,200km border with Myanmar, mainland media said.
“We hope and believe that the Myanmar side will maintain a consistent stance on China-Myanmar relations and be committed to advancing amicable ties, no matter how its domestic situation changes,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
He said the two countries shared a “common destiny”, and called on Suu Kyi and the NLD to play a “constructive” role in guiding the Myanmese public to have an “unbiased and rational” review of bilateral cooperation. Xi’s remarks come as relations between the two nations have been strained by renewed clashes in Myanmar’s border regions, and the country’s shift to the West since political reforms.
A general election will be held in Myanmar towards the end of the year, and although Suu Kyi might not be able to run because her two sons hold British citizenship, her party is expected to perform well.
Suu Kyi told Xi that she hoped her trip could help boost bilateral ties, CCTV reported.
On Wednesday, the ethnically Chinese Kokang rebel group that has been fighting Myanmar government troops since February, announced a unilateral ceasefire following the “Chinese government’s strong calls for restoring peace in the China-Myanmar border region”.
As China’s land corridor to the Indian Ocean, Myanmar has strategic significance to the world’s largest economy. But ties have been strained since the Thein Sein administration took office in 2011 and suspended the US$3.6 billion China-backed Myitsone Dam project. Stray fire from the Kokang conflict also killed five residents of Yunnan.
Professor Qu Jianwen of Yunnan University’s School of International Studies said the meeting was significant for Suu Kyi.
“The meeting with Xi showed that Suu Kyi, who used to be known for her close ties with the West, has won recognition from major powers from both the East and the West,” he said.
Yesterday, the Chinese embassy in Myanmar said that ambassador Yang Houlan would soon leave his post.
