Sept. 9 – Myanmar’s top leader, Senior General Than Shwe, arrived in China on Tuesday for a five-day visit to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao and discuss the further strengthening of bilateral relations.
“China pays a great deal of attention to relations with Myanmar,” Hu told the 77-year-old dictator during vis-à-vis talks at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People yesterday. “Consolidating and developing Sino-Myanmar cooperation and friendship is our unswerving policy. No matter how the international situation changes, this policy will not alter.”
After meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao and Wu Bangguo, China’s top legislator, General Than Shwe will then visit the 2010 Shanghai World Expo before traveling to Shenzhen to conclude his national tour.
Many human rights groups have criticized China’s willingness to deal with so-called “pariah regimes” like Myanmar, North Korea, Iran, Sudan and Zimbabwe. China argues that it is merely conducting trade based on basic supply and demand economics, and that it is not Beijing’s place to say what can and cannot go on in a foreign country.
“Our bilateral relations have…set an example for friendly relations between countries with different social systems,” Hu said.
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