Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai met separately with junta Foreign Minister Than Swe and National Solidarity and Peace Negotiation Committee secretary Lieutenant General Min Naing in Naypyitaw on Thursday.
The meeting followed months of fierce fighting between the regime and the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine State, where China has huge interests, as well as fresh fighting between the regime and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) near Lashio in northern Shan State.
As a junta peace negotiator, Min Naing participated in China-brokered talks between the regime and the Brotherhood Alliance of three ethnic armies including the MNDAA and AA that resulted in a ceasefire in mid-January.
China wants to restore border trade with Myanmar through northern Shan State, which has been halted since the anti-regime offensive in November.
Meanwhile, the AA, an ethnic Rakhine armed group, has called on existing foreign investors in Rakhine State to cooperate with it. In a trilingual statement in Burmese, Chinese and English issued on Monday, the AA said it recognizes foreign investments in Rakhine and guarantees the security of investments and investors. It also invited fresh investment in the state.
During his meeting with Than Swe, Chen Hai discussed the creation of a good environment for Chinese businesses in Myanmar, according to the Chinese Embassy.
Amid the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, China signed an addendum to the concession agreement for the Kyaukphyu deep-sea port in December.
Two weeks ago, the AA seized Ramree town, which borders Kyaukphyu in southern Rakhine.
MNDAA and junta troops clashed near Lashio on Tuesday, the first fighting in more than two months since a ceasefire in mid-January. The Brotherhood Alliance was poised to attack Lashio—the largest town in northern Shan and home to the headquarters of the junta military’s Northeastern Command—when it was forced by China to stop fighting.
In his address to the Armed Forces Day parade on Wednesday, Min Aung Hlaing called for cooperation between soldiers, police and militias to retake towns the regime has lost in northern Shan and in Rakhine and Kachin states. To do so, Min Aung Hlaing would have to break the ceasefire brokered by China.
Last month, Yunnan Governor Wang Yubo met Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw, and the two discussed restoring border trade and the flow of goods between Myanmar and the Chinese province. Chen was present at the meeting.
Chen and Min Naing reviewed the implementation of the northern Shan ceasefire on Thursday, according to the Chinese Embassy.
The regime has not yet issued a press release about the meeting.
In its statement, the embassy said China hopes for stability in Myanmar, and will play a “constructive role” to make sure the peace process gains momentum and border stability is guaranteed.
