China, Myanmar vow to crack down on telecom fraud

China and Myanmar on Wednesday pledged more efforts to crack down on telecom fraud as the countries' foreign ministers met in Beijing.

During a meeting with U Than Swe, who is Myanmar's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the two countries should strengthen law enforcement and security cooperation to eradicate the cancer of online gambling and cyber scams.

Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China and Myanmar have recently cooperated to combat telecom fraud and rescue victims trapped in northern Myanmar, achieving effective results and helping deter further crimes.

As of the end of November, a total of 31,000 suspects had been transferred from Myanmar to Chinese custody in a crackdown on telecom fraud originating from northern Myanmar and affecting Chinese citizens, according to the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.

During Wednesday's talks, Than Swe said Myanmar will resolutely crack down on cross-border illegal and criminal activities such as telecom fraud and carry out comprehensive coordination and cooperation with China in this regard.

'Paukphaw' friendship

Wang said China and Myanmar are comprehensive strategic partners with the traditional "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship, and the two countries have always supported and trusted each other.

China hopes that Myanmar will achieve domestic reconciliation as soon as possible under the constitutional framework and continue its political transformation process, he added.

China has never interfered in Myanmar's internal affairs, Wang stressed, adding that China appreciates Myanmar's adherence to the one-China principle and believes that it will, as always, resolutely oppose "Taiwan independence" and support China's reunification.

Than Swe called China Myanmar's most important neighbor and said Myanmar attaches great importance to developing relations with China.

He said Myanmar is ready to deepen cooperation with China in various fields to jointly build a Myanmar-China community with a shared future.

Noting that Myanmar still faces many domestic challenges, he expressed hope of continuing to receive support and help from China to achieve domestic peace and stability.

The talks between the two sides came ahead of the eighth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which is set to be co-chaired by Wang and Than Swe on Thursday in Beijing.

During the talks, Wang said China is ready to work with Lancang-Mekong countries for the success of the meeting, where they will discuss cooperation plans and jointly promote regional prosperity.

Than Swe said the upcoming meeting is of great significance, and he looks forward to working closely with China to promote the meeting to complete success.