Chinese vice president arrives in Myanmar for two-day visit

Sat, 19 Dec 2009

Yangon - Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping arrived in Myanmar Saturday for a two-day official visit that was expected to include talks with the ruling military junta's chief, Senior General Than Shwe, government officials said. Xi arrived at Yangon International Airport from South Korea on the second leg of a four-country Asian tour that is to take him to Cambodia next.

The vice president was scheduled Saturday evening to fly on to Myanmar's capital, Naypyitaw, 350 kilometers north of Yangon.

On Sunday, he was scheduled to meet with his Myanmar counterpart, Vice Senior General Maung Aye, and military supremo Than Shwe, who heads the State Peace and Development Council, as the junta styles itself.

China is one of Myanmar's few political allies in the international arena, where the regime is widely condemned for its poor human rights record and refusal to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest along with 2,100 other political prisoners.

For its part, China is known to be keen to gain access to Myanmar's rich offshore natural gas reserves with plans to build an overland pipeline to deliver the gas to its Yunnan province.

"I hope the visit of Mr Xi Jinping will be successful even if it is just a short visit," said Ye Dabo, Chinese ambassador to Myanmar. "The cooperation between China and Myanmar will broaden in the future."

On Saturday, Xi is to visit the Gem Museum and Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. He is to also meet with staff and family members from the Chinese embassy in Yangon.

According to Chinese embassy sources, several memoranda of understanding and treaties would be signed during his visit.

China is Myanmar's fourth-largest foreign investor with a total investment of 1.3 billion dollars. Bilateral trade between the two bordering countries reached 2.6 billion dollars in 2008.