Li held a welcoming ceremony for Aung San Suu Kyi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Advertisement
China said Thursday it is willing to “carefully push ahead” with cooperation with Myanmar in energy, including the suspended Myitsone Dam, as Myanmar’s State Counselor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing in her first visit to a non-ASEAN country since taking office.
Suu Kyi’s first major foreign trip since her administration took power in March showed “the Myanmar government and you yourself pay great attention to China-Myanmar ties”, Li Keqiang said at the start of talks in Beijing, adding: “China approves of this”.
Suu Kyi will meet President Xi Jinping Friday and visit other Chinese cities before wrapping up her visit on Sunday.
She stressed the need to work for peace in the country without ignoring the undertaking for economic and social development and called for mutual trust and unity to successfully hold the upcoming 21st Century Panglong Ethnic Conference.
“As is known to all, State Counsellor is ranked second only to the President among all the posts in the state organs of Myanmar”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement.
Elements in China have for years maintained contacts with northern Myanmar rebel groups and militias, some of which are led by ethnic Chinese commanders, so China’s help could be key as Suu Kyi’s government seeks to promote peace and stability in lawless border regions.
The dam project was a joint venture between the two countries, but it was supsended by the former government of Myanmar five years ago.
“The entire population of the country values the Irrawaddy River as the lifeline of our country, and we want to show we can not accept anything that will affect our mother river”, he told RFA’s Myanmar Service. It has pursued a charm offensive in Myanmar partly to push for construction to resume.
Last week, President Htin Kyaw set up a 20-member commission to study and review dam projects on the Irrawaddy River, including Myitsone.
A senior Chinese official, briefing the media after the talks, signalled that the Myanmar government was reconsidering its position on the $3.6 billion project, and hoped to arrive at a resolution that suited both sides.
Li said that bilateral cooperation should focus on the benefit of both peoples and achievement of win-win outcomes.
He was quoted saying: “She constantly surprises in what she’s willing to do in terms of political agreements that she’s willing to strike”.
China supports Myanmar in choosing a path suitable for its own national condition and backs its efforts to develop its economy and improve people’s livelihoods, Li said.
China reportedly paid 60 per cent of the project.
Advertisement
The bridge will be built in Kunlong, 32 kilometers (20 miles) from the border in northeastern Burma and near the Kokang region where an ethnic Chinese rebel group fought Burma’s military past year.
