January 18, 2020
President of the People’s Republic of China Mr. Xi Jinping’s first state visit to Myanmar has brought pride to our country and people.
The visit coincides with another milestone: the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Myanmar and China also falls this year.
The visit of President Xi will become a historic milestone by taking Myanmar-China relations to the next level.
In the 70 years of diplomatic ties, China and Myanmar have together championed and put into practice the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.
Myanmar serves as a land bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia, and lies in close proximity to large economies, such as China, India, and ASEAN. It has always been Myanmar’s policy to maintain close and friendly relations with all nations, especially with her neighbors.
In an article ahead of the Myanmar visit, President Xi Jinping stated that the relationship between the two countries has been marked by mutual trust, mutual respect, and mutual support. He added that relations between the two countries have become a prime example of equality, win-win cooperation, and common development between countries of different sizes. Our close ties have delivered real benefits to people in both countries, he further stated.
The economies of China and Myanmar are highly complementary, promising great room for cooperation. China has long been Myanmar’s largest trading partner and most important source of investment. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached US$16.8 billion in the first 11 months of 2019.
Meanwhile, Myanmar, an important partner country in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and China have capitalized on the convergence of our development strategies. The two sides have also signed cooperation documents on building the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) and established a joint CMEC committee to ensure steady progress.
Since the 1st Belt and Road Forum, Myanmar has welcomed the Belt and Road Initiative launched by China because we believe that the projects under this initiative would be in line with the development plans and priorities of Myanmar.
We are confident that the projects would provide the opportunity to deliberate on ways to strengthen the existing partnership in the next phase and to achieve high-quality cooperation under the win-win partnership of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, let us work hand in hand to promote bilateral cooperation and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation for the enhancement of the socioeconomic lives of the two peoples.
We welcome President Xi Jinping’s visit to Myanmar in this 70th anniversary year, and believe that China-Myanmar relations stand at a new starting point.
Let us work together to build an even closer China-Myanmar community with a shared future, and write a new chapter of our millennia-old pauk-phaw friendship.
GNLM
