Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing concluded his five-day state visit to China on Friday, with both sides pledging to deepen their "pauk-phaw (fraternal)" friendship and strengthen cooperation across a wide range of sectors.
The trip is the Myanmar leader's first state visit to China since taking office as president, and came as the two countries mark 76 years of diplomatic ties.
Following stops in Beijing and Shanghai, Min Aung Hlaing arrived in east China's Hangzhou City on Friday, where he toured Unitree, a leading Chinese robotics firm, as well as a new materials company.
During the visit, China and Myanmar issued a joint statement on accelerating the building of a China–Myanmar community with a shared future.
The statement calls for carrying forward the "pauk–phaw" friendship, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, advancing Belt and Road cooperation and the China–Myanmar Economic Corridor, and expanding coordination and cooperation in regional and global affairs. It also highlights China's continued post-earthquake assistance to Myanmar, streamlining quarantine access for agricultural products, and joint efforts to combat cross-border crime.
The two sides also signed a number of cooperative documents covering transport, human resources development, public health, media, and science and technology.
"Myanmar and China are more cooperative together. Also we welcome Chinese businesses to Myanmar, investment to Myanmar," said U Zaw Win Myint, Myanmar's Ambassador to China.
Ko Ko, chair of the Myanmar Narrative Think Tank, noted that the visit reflects the depth of the Myanmar-China partnership, which will unlock new opportunities for closer practical cooperation, especially in the green economy.
"Our country, especially the new leadership, President Min Aung Hlaing, he wants to promote the clean technology, also promote the green economy. China is very advanced in green economy and green products, right? Everything from the textile to the vehicle, all very green. So I strongly believe that we will see so many cooperations between Myanmar and China related to the green technology and green economy in the very near future," said Ko Ko.
Myanmar president wraps up China visit, pledging deeper cooperation
A clean energy program aiming to explore the abundant solar resources in an arid town in northwest China via smart technology has transformed the town into a vibrant green power hub.
Thanks to advanced smart grid systems, energy storage and initiating regional new energy training sessions introduced by the program, Minning Town in Yinchuan City of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has achieved a 24-hour supply of 100 percent green electricity since 2024, pioneering a new model for rural revitalization.
Designated as the first "Green Electricity Town" in the region, Minning Town boasts the largest and most fully equipped new energy training school in northwest China, where students are engaged in lessons around a disassembled wind-driven generator.
The Ningxia Lineng New Energy Vocational Skills Training School also offers trainees access to energy storage and power transformation equipment of different generations and technical characteristics.
Leveraging its abundant solar and wind power facilities, a training base has been established for the trainees in the town.
"Trainees can learn theories in the morning at school, and then go to stations nearby for some practices in the afternoon," said Xing Bowen, manager of the school.
With the annual sunshine duration reaching 3,000 hours, residents in the town have utilized local solar resources to increase their income.
In Yuanlong Village, the roofs of 1,922 households installed with photovoltaic panels have become a unique sight.
"Since our roof photovoltaic industry started grid-connected operation in 2016, residents in Yuanlong Village have leased their roofs out to enterprises. As a result, each household earns a rent of 480 yuan every year, and it also brings a collective income of nearly 1 million yuan to our village," said Ma Keyu, secretary of the Party branch in Yuanlong.
Besides roofs, many villages there have made full use of their idle land, while raising livestock animals under solar panels.
Wind turbines have been also put up on the desertified land around the town to synergize with solar panels to generate electricity.
To ensure a stable power supply at night or when wind stops, the town is equipped with 40 battery compartments that consist of around 200,000 battery cells. The facilities can reserve 180,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity and release 180,000 kilowatt-hours at one time, meeting the daily needs of 24,000 households.
A homegrown smart power dispatching system has been applied for the first time in the town.
"The system works as a smart brain for our power grid. It can predict when the wind is the heaviest and when the sunshine is the strongest, as well as power consumption of residents. It can ensure green power supply by automatically arranging the operations of wind and solar power facilities and reserve stations and dispatching power in real time," said Wang Erqing, deputy director of the Power Dispatching and Control Center of State Grid Yinchuan Power Supply Company.
Since 2024, the town has achieved an annual supply of 566 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity, saving 69,500 tons of coal, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 192,700 tons, with the utilization efficiency of new energy exceeding 95 percent.
Clean energy program turns arid town in northwest China into green power hub
