Obama's Myanmar trip 'no threat to Chinese interests'
Yunnan party boss says opening up of former pariah state will bring stability that helps China
A landmark trip by US President Barack Obama to Myanmar this month poses no threat to China's interests in the country, a senior Chinese official from a key border province said yesterday.
Obama will become the first US leader to visit Myanmar, the strongest international endorsement of a fragile democratic transition that his administration believes could help counter China's influence in a strategically important region.
Chinese media, academics and even a few diplomats have worried that US engagement in rapidly democratising Myanmar could threaten Beijing's relationship with what had been an important trade partner and de facto ally.
But Qin Guangrong, Communist Party chief of Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar and has deep business ties with it, said China was fully behind its opening up, especially as peace and stability there would benefit China.
"We understand and support the wish of the Myanmar authorities wanting to open up and become part of the world," Qin said on the sidelines of the Communist Party congress, in rare comments on a sensitive relationship.
"We believe that Myanmar's leaders will exercise their wisdom to lead their country's opening up. They know that the people of China will always be true friends of Myanmar's."
