CHINA and Myanmar said on Saturday that they have pledged to forge closer ties as “blood brothers,” as Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi got set to wrap up a visit to Beijing, her first diplomatic trip since taking power in March.
The neighboring countries also said in a joint statement that they would strengthen trade and cooperation on issues along the border, where fighting between Myanmar government forces and rebels have occasionally spilled over. There was no mention of progress, however, on a stalled $3.6-billion dam project in northern Myanmar primarily funded by Chinese energy interests, which was a key concern during the visit.
China has been on a diplomatic charm offensive in the past year toward its fast-growing neighbor, while Myanmar under Suu Kyi has shown a willingness to embrace its top trading partner and major investor.
The five-day visit, concluding on Sunday, is the second trip to China in 15 months for Suu Kyi, who was imprisoned for more than a decade by Myanmar’s former Beijing-backed military junta.
Suu Kyi has indicated that she will seek more balanced relations with China and the United States compared to Myanmar’s previous government, headed by former President Thein Sein, who initiated political reforms and built ties with Washington.
Suu Kyi met on Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to strengthen ties that have been challenged by Myanmar’s democratic reforms and the suspension of Chinese projects in the country.
Xi said he hopes Suu Kyi’s five-day visit will boost “strategic cooperation between our two nations.”
“China attaches great importance to developing relations with Myanmar,” he said in the meeting at a government guesthouse in western Beijing. “We should adhere to the correct direction, to push for new progress of bilateral relations and to bring tangible benefits to the two peoples.”
Suu Kyi replied that “both sides are advancing relations and deepening mutual understanding and friendship.”
The fate of a stalled $3.6-billion dam project in northern Myanmar, funded primarily by Chinese energy interests, has been a key concern during the visit. Overwhelming local opposition to the Myitsone dam project led Myanmar’s previous president, Thein Sein, to suspend it.
Chinese officials have pushed for Suu Kyi to restart construction. China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday that the two countries agreed to try to find a “proper solution.”
Speaking to reporters earlier Friday, Suu Kyi said she had nothing new to announce concerning the dam, which is to be reviewed by a recently formed commission on hydroelectric projects along the Irrawaddy River.
The dam is one of several Chinese-backed projects stalled due to protests by Myanmar citizens newly emboldened to speak out following democratic reforms, part of a larger backlash against China’s economic domination of its poor southern neighbor.
Image credits: AP