China backs Myanmar's junta's plan to hold new elections and return the conflict-torn country to a “democratic transition,” Beijing's foreign minister said on Friday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing June 28, 2024. Photo: Greg Baker/AFP.

The Southeast Asian country has been in turmoil since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government and seized power in 2021.

The coup ended a decade-long experiment with democracy, and the ensuing military crackdown has sparked clashes with established ethnic minority armed groups and the new pro-democracy People's Self-Defense Forces.

China is a major ally and arms supplier to the junta, but analysts say it also maintains ties with Ethnic groups fighting the army in Myanmar's northern Shan state.

“We support Myanmar in achieving internal political reconciliation within the framework of its constitution… and resuming the process of democratic transition through elections,” Wang Yi said at a regional meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

architectural design of the orange temple — Chiang Mai, Thailand. Photo courtesy of Tim Durgan/Pexels.com.

The junta has promised new elections but has repeatedly postponed them in an attempt to crush opposition to the coup across the country.

Earlier this week, Wan met with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw and “openly discussed and exchanged views on… free and fair multi-party general elections,” the junta said.

Myanmar is deeply divided by the conflict, with civilians being targeted almost daily by bombings, targeted killings and clashes between the military and opponents of the coup.

The military has acknowledged that it does not fully control some parts of the country and in February activated a long-defunct conscription law to bolster its ranks.

It said it would hold elections next year after conducting a national census.

Last year, the junta banned Suu Kyi's popular National League for Democracy party, which won a landslide victory in 2020 elections, defeating its military-backed rival.

The junta cited unfounded claims of widespread fraud during the elections as the reason for its coup.

The United States has said any elections under the junta would be “shams”, while analysts say the vote would target opponents of the military and provoke more bloodshed.

Russia, a close ally of the isolated junta, has previously said it backs the generals' plan to hold elections.