Wang Yi meets Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith in Chiang Mai

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Lao Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Thursday.

China and Laos have always sincerely supported and assisted each other, said Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Wang said bilateral trade continues to expand, the transportation capacity of the China-Laos railway has reached new heights, people-to-people exchanges have increased significantly, and international and regional cooperation has become closer.

He said China strongly supports Laos in exploring a development path appropriate to its national circumstances, supports Laos in its role as the rotating chair of ASEAN, and further strengthens its international and regional influence.

According to Wang, China is willing to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with Laos in various fields, maximize the overall benefits of the China-Laos railway, jointly tackle bottlenecks and accelerate overall development along the railway to promote the development and revitalization of both countries.

Saleumxay said the rapid development of Lao-China cooperation has played a crucial role in the socio-economic development of Laos.

Laos is willing to work with China to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of both countries, enhance high-level exchanges, deepen cooperation in connectivity and mineral resources, jointly combat cross-border crime, and promote the construction of the Laos-China community with a shared future, so as to achieve greater results for the benefit of the people of both countries, Saleumxay said.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Myanmar issue.

Wang said Myanmar is a member of the ASEAN family and China supports ASEAN in strengthening communication and engagement with Myanmar and exploring the alignment and mutual complementarity between the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus and Myanmar’s new five-point road map to help Myanmar maintain domestic stability.

China also supports Myanmar in achieving political reconciliation, restoring the process of democratic transition and maintaining the overall unity of ASEAN and regional peace and stability, he added.

Saleumxay appreciated China’s constructive role in promoting peace talks in northern Myanmar and political reconciliation within Myanmar. He expressed willingness to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China to help Myanmar achieve stability and development.