China wants reconciliation in Burma
Reuters / September 07, 2007

China wants reconciliation and an improvement of conditions in army-ruled Burma, where scores of people have been arrested during weeks of protests, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

While Burma's biggest trade partner shuns interference in the domestic affairs of other countries, China welcomed international efforts to help stabilise the situation in Burma as long as it was done with a "constructive attitude and on the basis of mutual respect", spokesman Liu Jianchao said.

"We hope to see reconciliation and improvement in the situation in Burma," Liu told reporters on the sidelines of an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Sydney.

"China is willing to strengthen its communication and dialogue with all the relevant sides, including the United States."

In a sign Burma may even be testing Beijing's patience, earlier this year China's Foreign Ministry published an unflattering account of Burma's new jungle capital, complaining it was remote, isolated and barren.

Burma did not come up in various bilateral meetings that Chinese President Hu Jintao has held in recent days, including one with US President George W Bush Thursday.

The United States has long standing economic sanctions against Burma, while energy-hungry China has cultivated a relationship with Burma for access to its gas and other natural resources, such as timber.

Liu said Beijing was in "very close touch" with Burma's ruling military junta.