Myanmar Premier Meets China Communist Party Members - Report

YANGON (AFP)--Myanmar's prime minister met senior members of China's Communist Party, state media reported Thursday, a day after Beijing said it would build an oil and gas pipeline into the country.

"Prime Minister of the Union of Myanmar Gen. Thein Sein received a delegation led by Mr. Zhang Gaoli, Member of Central Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China," the state-run newspaper said.

It gave no other information about the meeting, but said the delegation also met with senior military member Lt. Gen. Tin Aye of the Ministry of Defense and ministers during his visit.

"The delegation arrived in Yangon on Tuesday for a three-day goodwill visit. They will go back today directly from Mandalay after they met with the prime minister yesterday in (the capital) Naypyidaw," a Myanmar official said.

Chinese state media reported Wednesday that work on the oil and gas line into military-ruled Myanmar will begin in southwestern China's Yunnan province in the first half of 2009, after years of planning.

Once the pipeline is completed, at least part of the nation's crucial energy supplies will be able to avoid the long, cumbersome and potentially insecure route via the Malacca Strait.

China has been criticized for doing little to improve the rights situation in Myanmar, despite its status as one of the nation's closest allies. It also purchases much of Myanmar's natural resources, including gas, timber and jade.