Wang Yi Meets with Former Myanmar President Thein Sein

On June 29, 2024, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with former Myanmar President Thein Sein, who is in China for the Conference Marking the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, in Beijing.

Calling Thein Sein an old friend of the Chinese people, Wang Yi said seventy years ago, Chinese leaders advocated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. It was first responded to by Myanmar and promoted in Asia, which strongly promoted the development of relations among Asian countries. These principles have developed into the basic norms governing international relations and the fundamental principles of international law, making significant contributions to the building of the post-World War II international order and providing important public goods. Seventy years later, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence is not only not outdated, but demonstrates great vitality. Yesterday morning, President Xi Jinping attended the commemorative conference and expounded on the essence of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and their relevance for the times in an in-depth manner. The building of a community with a shared future for mankind injects new connotations of the times into the Five Principles, which is the best way to advance and enrich the Five Principles and once again provides important public goods for solving various challenges facing the world today. China is ready to work with Myanmar to make new efforts to implement the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and promote the building of a China-Myanmar community with a shared future.

Recalling that ten years ago, he attended the Conference Marking the 60th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence as President, Thein Sein said it is the second time he attended the conference as an old friend of China and he feels very honored. China and Myanmar are friendly neighbors with long-term peaceful coexistence, and the deep "pauk-phaw" friendship between the two countries was personally forged by the elder generation of leaders. During President Xi Jinping's visit to Myanmar in 2020, the two countries reached important common understandings on building a Myanmar-China community with a shared future. Myanmar attaches great importance to developing its relations with China, highly appreciates and supports the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind put forward by President Xi Jinping, and stands ready to work with China to inherit and carry forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, deepen cooperation in various fields, and jointly build a Myanmar-China community with a shared future.