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BEIJING – China is willing to engage with “all parties” to alleviate the crisis in neighboring Myanmar and is not taking sides, the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councilor Wang Yi, said on Sunday.
Beijing has said the situation in Myanmar, where the military took power last month, “is not at all what China wants to see” and has dismissed rumors on social media about Chinese involvement in the coup as nonsense.
“China is … willing to contact and communicate with all parties on the basis of respect for Myanmar’s sovereignty and the will of the people, in order to play a constructive role in easing tensions,” Wang said in a press conference on the sidelines of China. annual meeting of parliament.
While Western countries have strongly condemned the February 1 coup, China has been more cautious and emphasized the importance of stability.
However, China accepted a United Nations Security Council statement calling for the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other detainees and expressed concern about the state of emergency.
“China has long-term friendly exchanges with all parties and factions in Myanmar, including the National League for Democracy (NLD), and friendship with China has always been the consensus of all sectors in Myanmar,” Wang said.
The NLD is Suu Kyi’s party. The junta has ignored its landslide victory in November in the national elections.
“No matter how the situation in Myanmar changes, China’s determination to promote China-Myanmar relations will not waver, and China’s direction to promote China-Myanmar friendly cooperation will not change,” Wang said.
On Saturday, an Israeli-Canadian lobbyist hired by the Myanmar junta told Reuters the generals are willing to leave politics after the coup and seek to improve relations with the United States and distance themselves from China.
Some of the protests against the coup, which have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to the streets, have taken place in front of the Chinese embassy in Yangon, with protesters accusing Beijing of supporting the junta.
Beijing has said it was not informed before the coup.
China has traditionally been viewed with suspicion in Myanmar, where it has important economic and strategic interests and has often supported Myanmar’s position against Western criticism. —Reuters
