Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with the minister of Myanmar's State Counsellor Office Kyaw Tint Swe in Beijing Thursday. The two sides agreed to strengthen their comprehensive strategic cooperation as well as to protect peace and stability in their border regions. 

Wang called on the two countries to boost the development of the China-Myanmar economic corridor, one of the highlight projects of the Belt and Road Initiative. Given its unique location, Myanmar plays an important role in the Belt and Road Initiative, and as such, the Southeast Asian country is seen as a key hub connecting both the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the Silk Road Economic Belt, Wang said.

The Myanmar minister added that he appreciates China's contributions to the peace process in Myanmar and hopes Beijing could continue to do so.

Back in November 2017, Wang introduced China's opinions on the situation in Myanmar's Rakhine State and suggested addressing this issue in three phases when jointly meeting the press with State Counselor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi. Wang said China believes the best approach to solve the issue of the Rakhine State is to find an acceptable solution for both Myanmar and Bangladesh through bilateral consultations.

The Ministry of Myanmar's State Counsellor Office was established in 2016 after Aung San Suu Kyi was appointed as the country's State Counselor.

This is the 68th year since the two sides established diplomatic ties. China has become Myanmar’s top trading partner with 13.5 billion US dollars in bilateral trade in 2017, a yearly increase of 10 percent. 

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