Nation ready to boost friendship with Myanmar

China supports Myanmar in advancing its political reconciliation and transition process, and is willing to steadily promote construction of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor under the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday.

Li made the remarks in Kunming, Yunnan province, during a meeting with Myanmar's leader Min Aung Hlaing, who is in China to attend the eighth Greater Mekong Subregion Summit.

Li and leaders of the five Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam are to meet on Thursday for the summit.

During the meeting with the Myanmar leader, Li hailed the bilateral ties, saying that China and Myanmar are friendly neighbors connected by shared mountains and rivers with a deep bond of pauk-phaw friendship (pauk-phaw means fraternal in the language of Myanmar).

In the 70 years since they established diplomatic relations, the two countries have always treated each other with sincerity and mutual assistance, and bilateral relations have stood the test of international changes and advanced steadily, he said.

Noting that China has always placed great importance on developing relations with Myanmar in its neighborhood diplomacy, the premier said the nation will continue to support Myanmar in choosing a development path that suits its national conditions.

Li expressed China's willingness to work with Myanmar to consolidate and enhance political mutual trust, deepen strategic cooperation, tackle challenges together, and further promote construction of the China-Myanmar community with a shared future, in order to deliver more benefits to the people of the two countries.

He underlined the need for both countries to jointly combat cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecommunications fraud, to safeguard the interests of the two peoples.

Li also expressed the hope that Myanmar will take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals, institutions and projects in the country.

Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar and China are traditional friendly neighbors who are as close as brothers.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have always followed the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and bilateral relations have made significant progress, he said.

The Myanmar leader reiterated his country's commitment to adhering to the one-China principle, saying that Taiwan is an integral part of China.

Myanmar sincerely appreciates the valuable assistance provided by China for its economic and social development and disaster response, as well as the positive role played by China in its peace and reconciliation efforts and the stability of northern Myanmar, he said.

Myanmar will spare no effort to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals, institutions and projects in the country, he added.

On Wednesday afternoon, Li also met with Masatsugu Asakawa, president of the Asian Development Bank, who is also in Kunming to attend the summit.

The premier expressed the hope that both sides will continue to focus on development and further expand cooperation. China is willing to strengthen financial cooperation with the ADB in areas such as environmental protection, green and low-carbon development, elderly care and healthcare, he added.

Li expressed the country's commitment to actively participating in and supporting economic cooperation in the Greater Mekong Subregion, and working with all parties to promote regional development and prosperity.

Asakawa said that China's stable economic growth is of great significance to the economic recovery of the Asia-Pacific region and the whole world. The ADB highly values and is committed to developing a more robust and comprehensive cooperative relationship with China, he said.