Beijing, Dec.16 (ANI): China's ambassador to Myanmar met with Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, according to a government spokesman, in a potential signal that Beijing hopes to take a greater role in the Southeast Asian nation's political transformation.
According to the Wall Street Journal, China Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told media on Thursday that China's ambassador met with Suu Kyi at her request.
Liu didn't say when the meeting was held, saying "the date is not important," and declined to offer additional details.
He also wouldn't confirm whether the meeting was the first between a Chinese official and Suu Kyi.e Htut, a spokesman for Myanmar's Ministry of Information, said the government was unaware of the meeting.
In the past, China has enjoyed close relations with Myanmar, a strategically important nation in the eyes of Beijing, and Chinese investment had filled a void left by Western sanctions against Myanmar.
The two countries are currently building an oil and natural-gas pipeline that would give China an alternative to sending tankers through the Malacca Strait, a shipping choke point closely watched by the U.S. Navy.
But China's growing military presence on Myanmar's border and its efforts to secure natural resources have been unpopular in Myanmar.
Its leaders in September suspended the construction of a China-backed dam that had been a sore point among its opposition groups. (ANI)
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