BANGKOK (AP) 鈥 The head of Myanmar鈥檚 military-controlled government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, met Tuesday with the visiting foreign minister of China, which has provided key support to his regime since it seized power two years ago.
Myanmar state television MRTV said Qin Gang held talks in the capital, Naypyitaw, with Min Aung Hlaing and other top officials and exchanged views on bilateral relations, Myanmar鈥檚 political situation and conditions needed for its stability and development.
Myanmar is mired in strife because of a political crisis unleashed when the military took power in February 2021, deposing the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The takeover prompted widespread peaceful protests that security forces suppressed with deadly force, triggering armed resistance throughout the country that the army has been unable to quell.
China has strategic geopolitical and economic interests in Myanmar, its southern neighbor, and is one of the few large nations that has maintained good relations with its military government, which is shunned and sanctioned by many Western nations for its takeover and brutal repression of its opponents.
China, along with Russia, is a major arms supplier to Myanmar鈥檚 military. It also is Myanmar鈥檚 biggest trading partner and has invested billions of dollars in Myanmar's mines, oil and gas pipelines and other infrastructure.
Qin鈥檚 visit was announced Tuesday by China鈥檚 Foreign Ministry, which said it would follow up on the outcomes of President Xi Jinping鈥檚 visit in January 2020, deepen cooperation and 鈥渟upport Myanmar鈥檚 efforts to maintain stability, revitalize the economy, improve people鈥檚 lives, and realize sustainable development.鈥
MRTV reported that Qin said his visit showed that China stands by Myanmar internationally.
Qin鈥檚 visit to Naypyitaw came a day after he met with Noeleen Heyzer, the U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, in Beijing on Monday.
Qin told Heyzer that international society should respect Myanmar鈥檚 sovereignty and support all parties in Myanmar within the constitutional and legal framework to bridge differences and resume a political transition through political dialogue, according to China鈥檚 official Xinhua News Agency.
Qin also said the Myanmar issue is complex and there is no 鈥渜uick fix,鈥 it said.
Opponents of military rule in Myanmar suspect that China supported the military takeover because it has refused to condemn the military for its action and initially described it as 鈥渁 major Cabinet reshuffle.鈥
Beijing鈥檚 adherence to a nominal policy of non-interference in other countries鈥 politics has angered many in Myanmar who oppose the military, with some calling for boycotts of Chinese products.
Since the military seized power, a special Chinese envoy, Sun Guoxiang, visited Myanmar twice and previous Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Wunna Maung Lwin, Myanmar鈥檚 former foreign minister, twice in China.
Wang Yi also attended a regional meeting of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation group held in Myanmar鈥檚 central city of Bagan in July last year.
A new Chinese special envoy, Deng Xijun, visited Myanmar in December, February and March and held separate meetings with Min Aung Hlaing and the leaders of ethnic armed forces based in the eastern Shan and northern Kachin states.
Myanmar's military said Qin will leave on Thursday, after which he is to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of countries in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the Indian state of Goa.
Earlier Tuesday, Qin called for stability and a crackdown on cross-border criminal activity along his country鈥檚 border with Myanmar during an unusual visit to southern China鈥檚 border region.
The 2,129-kilometer (1,323-mile) border runs through densely forested mountains and has long been notorious for drug smuggling into China from the 鈥淕olden Triangle鈥 region where the borders of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet.
The United Nations says the production of opium in Myanmar has flourished since the military seized power in 2021, with the cultivation of poppies up by a third in the past year as eradication efforts dropped off and the faltering economy led more people to enter the drug trade.
