China will support a democratic transition in Myanmar, says foreign minister

CHIANG MAI, Thailand (Reuters) - China will support a democratic transition in Myanmar and backs a regional plan to find a way out of the ongoing crisis in the Southeast Asian country, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday during a visit to Thailand.

Wang's comments at a media conference came after he met with Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing during a visit to the war-torn country this week.

"China continues its commitment to restore peace and stability in Myanmar," he said in translated remarks.

China has promised technical support and aid for conducting a census, followed by an election that is currently planned to be held next year, junta-run media said on Thursday.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since February 2021 when the military ousted an elected civilian government in a coup, abruptly ending the impoverished country's tentative steps towards becoming a full-fledged democracy.

In Thailand to attend a regional meeting, Wang said that China also supports a peace plan agreed to by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), known as its five-point "consensus", to resolve the crisis in Myanmar.

(Reporting by Reuters staff, Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by John Mair)