China on Thursday called for Western countries to immediately lift their punitive sanctions on Burma in the wake of by-elections won by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party. The call by the Foreign Ministry echoes one made by Southeast Asian leaders after a summit on Wednesday, where Burmese President Thein Sein received a flurry of praise for his country’s recent reforms. Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China welcomed reports that Western countries would ease their sanctions and that they should “fully lift” them “as soon as possible.”—AP