China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday (August 13) that Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Myanmar and Thailand on August 14-17.
“Wang Yi will visit Myanmar and travel to Thailand to co-chair the ninth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting,” said foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian.
Wang will also attend an “informal discussion” between his counterparts from Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, Lin said.
Last week, China's special envoy for Asian affairs met Myanmar's junta chief in the capital Naypyidaw for talks on “peace and stability” along their shared border, Myanmar state media said, days after ethnic rebels seized a regional military command.
Myanmar's northern Shan state has seen repeated clashes since late June, after ethnic rebel groups launched attacks on military forces along a vital trade route to China.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing discussed “the internal peace process in Myanmar, peace and stability measures in border areas” with China’s Deng Xijun, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar.
The senior general “explained the implementation of the goals and five-point roadmap to ensure peace and stability,” the state-run newspaper said.
China is a major ally and arms supplier to the junta, but analysts say it also maintains ties with ethnic armed groups in Myanmar that control territory near the border.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman who asked not to be named said Tuesday that Wang's previous visit to Myanmar was “aimed at strengthening mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in various fields.”
China supports “Myanmar’s efforts to maintain stability, economic growth and improve people’s quality of life,” he added. (th/jm)
