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Vanessa Cai

China has pledged to help Myanmar’s new government to engage more with multilateral platforms and eradicate telecoms scam operations.
Capping a five-day trip to Southeast Asia on the weekend, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s junta leader-turned-president, on Saturday that China “firmly supports Myanmar in safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity”.
“This year marks the first year of Myanmar’s new government. Both sides should seize this opportunity to carry forward their traditional friendship and open up new prospects for bilateral relations,” Wang said in the capital city Naypyidaw, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as president earlier this month after Myanmar’s military-dominated legislature elected him as president on April 3.
Myanmar has been engulfed in civil war since February 2021, when the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and detained its leaders.


Wang said China was willing to maintain high-level exchanges with Myanmar and strengthen strategic coordination.
“On multilateral platforms, China will continue to speak up in support of Myanmar, back its participation in more dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, and promote positive interactions with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean),” he added.
Myanmar has been excluded from various Asean summits, and Min Aung Hlaing is seeking to normalise ties with the regional bloc to end his government’s diplomatic isolation.
On Saturday, Wang also said that Beijing was ready to work with Myanmar to “resolutely and completely eradicate the ‘tumour’ of online gambling and telecoms fraud”.
Min Aung Hlaing was quoted as saying that the Myanmese government would aim to work with Beijing to maintain border peace and stability.
“We will not allow any activities on our territory that harm China’s interests, will continue to intensify efforts to combat online gambling and telecoms fraud, and will take concrete measures to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Myanmar,” he said.
Beijing in recent years has stepped up efforts against telecoms fraud targeting its citizens, engaging in close cooperation with neighbouring Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand.
With a 2,100km (1,300-mile) shared border, China is Myanmar’s top trading partner.
Myanmar hosts a sprawling network of Chinese-funded infrastructure, including gas and oil pipelines running from China’s southwestern border province of Yunnan to the Indian Ocean.
Earlier in the week, Wang visited Cambodia where he took part in the first meeting under the 2+2 mechanism involving defence and foreign ministers, as part of China’s strategic engagement with its neighbours. Afterward he travelled to Thailand and then Myanmar.
Ties with neighbouring countries are a diplomatic priority as Beijing seeks to stabilise supply chains and external conditions amid its increasingly fierce strategic competition with the United States.
On Saturday, Wang also held talks with his Myanmese counterpart, Tin Maung Swe.
Wang noted that China “has always been and will remain a truly reliable friend and partner of Myanmar” and was willing to deepen practical cooperation.
Beijing’s top diplomat also called on both sides to strengthen cooperation in electricity, oil and gas; expand trade and investment; explore emerging areas of cooperation; and improve youth exchanges and training.


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China

Diplomacy

Foreign Minister Wang Yi caps five-day Southeast Asia tour also urging both sides to ‘open up new prospects for bilateral relations’


Foreign Minister Wang Yi caps five-day Southeast Asia tour also urging both sides to ‘open up new prospects for bilateral relations’.


China backs Myanmar’s push to ease diplomatic isolation, stamp out telecoms scams

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Foreign Minister Wang Yi caps five-day Southeast Asia tour also urging both sides to ‘open up new prospects for bilateral relations’

Foreign Minister Wang Yi caps five-day Southeast Asia tour also urging both sides to ‘open up new prospects for bilateral relations’