Sawt Falasteen - China's Xi says 'firmly supports' Myanmar in safeguarding sovereignty

China is Myanmar's most crucial ally and a rare enduring partner after Min Aung Hlaing's 2021 coup ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, prompting Western nations to cut ties with the Southeast Asian nation.

Beijing has emerged as a key power-broker in the civil war sparked by the coup, and also vocally backed recent polls that excluded Suu Kyi's party and returned a walk-over win for pro-military MPs -- who elected Min Aung Hlaing as president.

Xi said that China "firmly supports" Myanmar in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as he met Min Aung Hlaing at Beijing's opulent Great Hall of the People on Tuesday following a welcome ceremony, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The Myanmar leader's trip -- his second state visit since taking over as civilian president in April -- comes as ties with Beijing have frayed in recent years over internet scam centres along the countries shared border areas that have targeted Chinese citizens, analysts say.

Beijing "supports the new government in balancing development and security to find a correct development path that suits its national conditions and enjoys the people's support", Xi told Min Aung Hlaing.

Both countries, the Chinese leader added, must continue to "crack down hard" on telecom fraud, online gambling and drug trafficking.

Xi also hailed the China-Myanmar relationship, saying that the two countries have "stood together through thick and thin".

"China supports all parties in Myanmar in advancing peace and reconciliation through dialogue," he said.

Min Aung Hlaing landed in Beijing on Monday to a red-carpet welcome, according to images shared by his office, and spent the first hours of his five-day trip touring Beijing Aerospace City -- the centre of China's space programme.

He is also set to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji.

Beijing is a key provider of materiel to the Myanmar military and has also brokered a pair of landmark truces with two of the most powerful rebel factions that once challenged it in the borderlands with China.

While Myanmar has been massively impoverished by the civil war, it has also emerged as a major global supplier of mined rare earth minerals -- vital for China's production of renewable energy technology.

J.AbuShaban--SF-PST