China on Saturday offered a range of incentives including financial assistance and support for building energy projects to Myanmar during the ongoing visit by its de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Chinese president Xi Jinping even offered to upgrade relationship with Myanmar treating it almost on par with China's ties with Pakistan.
Xi offered to extent "comprehensive, strategic (and) cooperative partnership" to Myanmar in order to "bring more tangible benefits to the people of both countries," the official Xinhua news agency said. But Aung made no promises about relaunching construction work by Chinese companies on a stalled $3.6 billion dam project in Myanmar.
Chinese officials and the official media have repeatedly raised the issue of relaunching work on the project, which had been stalled following protests from people who would have been affected by it.
Aung struck to her stand an investigation commission must inquire into circumstances that resulted in the stalling of the project in 2011 before taking a decision on whether to reopen construction work on the project.
"It is for the commission to find out what the best answer is," she said. "I cannot say now what the best solution is," she said without giving a time line about when a decision would be taken on the fate of the project.
During talks with Chinese leaders, Aung emphasized the need for resolving disputes between armed ethnic groups operating along Myanmar's border with China. There have been some cross-border shootings, and a case of a bomb being dropped by a Myanmarese aircraft killing some people on the Chinese side of the border.
"If you ask me what my most important aim is for my country, that is to achieve peace and unity among the different peoples of our union," Suu Kyi said. "Without peace, there can be no sustained development".
Some of Myanmar's tribes have ethnic and cultural links to the neighbouring Chinese province of Yunnan. Besides, the porous border is notorious for trade in drugs, arms and precious stones.
"China, as a neighbour which shares a very important border of which there are many ethnic armed groups, is important in its goodwill," she said adding, "We do believe that as a good neighbour China will do everything possible to promote our peace process".
Armed ethnic groups supporting and opposing the government have been engaged in gun fights across Myanmar's poor and militarised borderlands for decades. These disputes are affecting economic progress despite the end of the military junta rule in the country.
State-run China Daily said in an editorial praised Aung Suu Kyi as a "political realist" who realises the importance of "reassuring" China. She would pursue the same "non-aligned" foreign policy as her predecessors, it said.
Xi offered to extent "comprehensive, strategic (and) cooperative partnership" to Myanmar in order to "bring more tangible benefits to the people of both countries," the official Xinhua news agency said. But Aung made no promises about relaunching construction work by Chinese companies on a stalled $3.6 billion dam project in Myanmar.
Chinese officials and the official media have repeatedly raised the issue of relaunching work on the project, which had been stalled following protests from people who would have been affected by it.
Aung struck to her stand an investigation commission must inquire into circumstances that resulted in the stalling of the project in 2011 before taking a decision on whether to reopen construction work on the project.
"It is for the commission to find out what the best answer is," she said. "I cannot say now what the best solution is," she said without giving a time line about when a decision would be taken on the fate of the project.
During talks with Chinese leaders, Aung emphasized the need for resolving disputes between armed ethnic groups operating along Myanmar's border with China. There have been some cross-border shootings, and a case of a bomb being dropped by a Myanmarese aircraft killing some people on the Chinese side of the border.
"If you ask me what my most important aim is for my country, that is to achieve peace and unity among the different peoples of our union," Suu Kyi said. "Without peace, there can be no sustained development".
Some of Myanmar's tribes have ethnic and cultural links to the neighbouring Chinese province of Yunnan. Besides, the porous border is notorious for trade in drugs, arms and precious stones.
"China, as a neighbour which shares a very important border of which there are many ethnic armed groups, is important in its goodwill," she said adding, "We do believe that as a good neighbour China will do everything possible to promote our peace process".
Armed ethnic groups supporting and opposing the government have been engaged in gun fights across Myanmar's poor and militarised borderlands for decades. These disputes are affecting economic progress despite the end of the military junta rule in the country.
State-run China Daily said in an editorial praised Aung Suu Kyi as a "political realist" who realises the importance of "reassuring" China. She would pursue the same "non-aligned" foreign policy as her predecessors, it said.