Xi, Myanmar leader send messages on 70-year ties

China would like to strengthen high-level exchanges, consolidate mutual political trust and deepen practical cooperation in all areas with Myanmar, President Xi Jinping said on Monday.

Xi made the remark in a congratulatory message to Myanmar President U Win Myint on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.

Xi said China and Myanmar have supported each other and stuck together in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and such cooperation has demonstrated the spirit of the China-Myanmar community with a shared future.

The development of bilateral relations and deepened cooperation in all areas over the past seven decades have brought real benefits to the people of both sides, he said.

Xi noted that he had made a state visit to Myanmar in January, during which the two leaders reached an important consensus on building a China-Myanmar community with a shared future, bringing bilateral ties into a new era.

Observing that the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, Xi said that China-Myanmar relations are at a key juncture that inherits the past and ushers in the future.

The people of the two nations will always be good neighbors, friends, partners and pauk-phaw (siblings in Burmese, Myanmar's official language), he said.

In his message to Xi, U Win Myint congratulated China on the success of the annual sessions of its top legislature and the top political advisory body.

He expressed gratitude for China's assistance and support for Myanmar's fight against COVID-19 and for his country's economic and social development, adding that the two countries will strengthen cooperation in all areas.

Premier Li Keqiang and Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi also sent congratulatory messages to each other on Monday.

China would like to implement the consensuses reached by the two leaders, speed up connection of development strategies and deepen cooperation on jointly building the Belt and Road and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, Li said.

Aung San Suu Kyi said that the Belt and Road and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor will bring benefits to the people of both nations and Myanmar would like to promote practical cooperation between the two countries.

China has donated anti-epidemic materials and sent a team of medical experts to Myanmar to help the country cope with the pandemic.