Xi's fruitful visit would become a milestone: Myanmar experts hail China-Myanmar future cooperation

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds formal talks with Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, Jan. 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

China and Myanmar will reach win-win results and fulfill their respective goals for development, said vice president of Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- During Chinese President Xi Jinping's first overseas trip in 2020 -- a state visit to Myanmar -- the two countries have agreed to work together to build a community with a shared future and boost bilateral cooperation in various fields.

During the two-day visit, Xi attended 12 events and witnessed the signing of 29 cooperation documents, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday, adding that the two sides have also issued a joint statement.

Myanmar scholars and experts believed that Xi's fruitful visit would become a milestone in China-Myanmar relations and open a new chapter of the millennia-old "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship between the two countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with Myanmar President U Win Myint in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, Jan. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

COMMUNITY WITH SHARED FUTURE

China and Myanmar have agreed to consolidate traditional bonds of friendship, promote comprehensive strategic cooperation, and build a community with a shared future, and the two sides have made plans for exchanges and cooperation in various fields for the next stage, according to their joint statement issued during the Chinese president's visit.

Building a community with a shared future between the two countries is an important result of Xi's visit, as it will help China and Myanmar achieve more win-win results, said Aung Tun Thet, member of Myanmar Peace Commission, adding that the Myanmar society highly recognizes this agreement.

"Building a community with (a) shared future is a great support for us as we have been faced with many challenges here," said Joint Secretary of the Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies U Khin Maung Lynn.

Girls from Myanmar wearing folk costume dance during the 16th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhang Ailin)

China's action as a real friend is very encouraging, and the two sides need to implement those projects for the benefit and friendship of the two peoples, he added.

U Ko Ko Hlaing, co-founder of Center for Strategic and International Studies of Myanmar, said a closer cooperation will introduce new opportunities in various sectors such as social and cultural exchanges.

The China-Myanmar Year of Culture and Tourism, for example, will enhance mutual understanding between the two peoples, he said.

A worker from Myanmar transports melons at a market near Wanding port in Ruili City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 8, 2019. (Xinhua/Qin Qing)

MAJOR PROJECTS TO BOOST BRI CONSTRUCTION

The statement said the two sides have agreed to step up their cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and on building of the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the New Yangon City, the China-Myanmar Border Economic Cooperation Zone, as well as roads, railways and power and energy infrastructures.

Professor Khin Ma Ma Myo of International Relations Department at the University of Yangon said Myanmar is a key link between Southeast Asia and South Asia, so the improvement of transportation routes, ports, bridges and economic zones will be of great help for the two countries' economic and people-to-people relations.

U Hla Maung Shwe, vice president of Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said he believes that the BRI cooperation and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) will help Myanmar deliver sustained economic development.

Aerial photo taken on Dec. 9, 2018 shows the railway arch bridge across the Nujiang River in southwest China's Yunnan Province. The bridge is the longest-spanning railway arch bridge in the world with a single span of 490 meters. The bridge is a key project of the 220-km-long Dali-Ruili railway which is a key section of the China-Myanmar international railway corridor linking Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan, with Yangon of Myanmar. (Xinhua)

China and Myanmar will reach win-win results and fulfill their respective goals for development, he said.

U Ko Ko Hlaing said as the projects of infrastructure and SEZs are under construction, it is expected that tangible progress in the sector can be seen in the near future.

He said he believes that the CMEC will be a significant project for the development of Myanmar since its benefits will cover broader areas across the country with the development of infrastructures, industrial complexes and SEZs.

A nurse plays with Wint Nadi Hlaing, who is recovering from the surgery, at Fuwai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

CULTURAL EXCHANGES FOR FRIENDSHIP

The statement also mentioned that the two countries have agreed to hold the China-Myanmar Year of Culture and Tourism in 2020, celebrate the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, and strengthen the exchanges and cooperation in such fields as education, culture, tourism, religion and media.

The China-Myanmar Year of Culture and Tourism in 2020 will deepen social and cultural exchanges and strengthen the "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship with solid ground, said President of Myanmar-China Friendship Association (Central) U Sein Win Aung.

Artists from China's Nanning perform during the China-ASEAN cultural exchange trip in Yangon, Myanmar, June 7, 2019. (Xinhua/U Aung)

More and more Chinese tourists have chosen Myanmar as their travel destination, which is good for the understanding of the two peoples. Myanmar welcomes them and will do the best to provide convenience for Chinese tourists, said Aung Tun Thet.

Besides tourism, bilateral cooperation and exchanges in fields of education, religion, media, film and television should also be promoted, U Ko Ko Hlaing said.

Media practitioners, think tank experts, foreign teachers and artists from both nations should have closer cooperation for better understanding between the two peoples, which will inject new vitality into the "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship, he said. ■