August 22, 2016•Update: August 23, 2016
By Mahmut Atanur
BEIJING
Myanmar Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi has wrapped up a five-day trip to China, with the two countries reaching agreement on working toward close coordination on a variety of issues.
A statement from the Myanmar president’s office said the two countries had agreed to work closer together on border frictions, trade, economics, climate change, natural disasters and communicable diseases.
“The two sides agreed to promote rule-of-law in the border areas, and to enhance trade, economic cooperation and various forms of friendly exchanges that would contribute to the well-being of the public,” the statement said.
Other talks are reported to have yielded advanced cooperation between local governments in education and agriculture.
China is Myanmar's biggest investor and biggest trading partner. Suu Kyi's trip to the country was the first she has made since her National League for Democracy (NLD) government took office in March, outside of visiting Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.
On Monday, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported that the neighbors had also inked a series of agreements covering economy, trade, people's livelihoods and infrastructure development.
China's president, Xi Jinping, has also pledged that Beijing would continue to play a constructive role in promoting Myanmar's peace process, while working with its neighbor to safeguard peace and stability in border areas.
China is on Myanmar's northern border, and in 2015, shelling from neighboring Myanmar wounded five people in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan -- cross-border fire that strained ties between the neighbors.
Suu Kyi's government is preparing for talks to bring an end to hostilities between armed ethnic groups and the national government in the north.
On Thursday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang gave the peace talks his best wishes, and said he hopes the 21st Century Panglong Ethnic Conference, to be held Aug. 31 in Myanmar's capital, is "a success”.
"We are willing to work with Myanmar to consolidate political trust and strengthen communication and cooperation in various fields to promote bilateral ties in the new era," said the premier.
China is also hoping that Myanmar will be able to aid Beijing in hostilities elsewhere.
On Monday, CCTV reported Du Lan of the China Institute of International Studies as saying that the visit will give Myanmar a lead in pragmatic cooperation with its neighbor in the South China Sea dispute.
"Myanmar is neither a coastal country to the South China Sea nor a claimant country in the South China Sea dispute. But it is playing an increasingly active role in the affairs of the Association of Southeast [Asian] Nations. Also as Myanmar has a diplomatic concept furthering balance and independence, it is expected to play a coordinating role in the South China Sea issue between China and other ASEAN member countries," he is reported to have said.
Beijing claims around 90 percent of the South China Sea, while many ASEAN counties consider some of its waters, islands and reefs as their territory.
On Monday, political analyst U Than Soe Naing told The Myanmar Times that China’s promise to promote the peace process and promote rule of law in the borderlands are related.
"Some of the ethnic groups are located along Myanmar’s porous border with China, where drugs and guns are often bought and sold. Some armed ethnic groups along the border have ethnic or cultural ties to the people in Yunnan province on the Chinese side of the border," the Times reported.
The trip also saw China and Myanmar agree to enhance cooperation to find a solution to a controversial multi-billion dollar hydropower project being built by China in Myanmar.
The Myitsone dam project was halted by Myanmar's former president, Thein Sein, in 2011 following growing criticism from prominent statesmen in Myanmar, including then-main opposition leader Suu Kyi.
State media Xinhua reported Friday that agreement with Chinese Premier Li had been reached, with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin telling reporters that Suu Kyi had said Myanmar's new government has decided to set up an investigation committee to find a solution to the issue that is in both countries' interests.
Environmental groups have claimed the dam site -- at the confluence of the Mali and N'Mai rivers in the Ayeyawaddy river basin -- is around 100 kilometers (60 miles) from an earthquake fault line, and would cause tremendous environmental impact on communities downstream.
Suu Kyi's visit was the first trip to China by a Myanmar leader since her NLD's new government took office in late March.
