Both sides agree to cease fighting and not harm residents along Myanmar's northern border with China.
Myanmar's military government and an alliance of ethnic armed groups have agreed to an immediate ceasefire following Chinese-brokered peace talks.
“China hopes that relevant parties in Myanmar can conscientiously implement the agreement, exercise maximum restraint with each other and resolve problems through dialogue and consultation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said on Friday.
The two sides held talks on Wednesday and Thursday in Kunming, a Chinese provincial capital about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the border with Myanmar, Mao said, adding that they also pledged not to harm residents along the Chinese border.
Myanmar's military, which overthrew an elected government nearly three years ago, has been fighting an alliance of ethnic minority armies fighting to end control of their regions since late October, with intense violence throughout the northern border with China.
The army confirmed it had agreed to a “temporary ceasefire.”
“We plan to continue discussing and strengthening the ceasefire agreement. We will engage in more talks between Myanmar and China to reopen the border gates,” spokesman Zaw Min Tun told reporters.
A leader of one of the rebel groups, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), also said a truce had been reached, adding that an envoy from China was involved in the talks.
The clashes in northern Shan state posed the biggest battlefield challenge for the military since the coup and caused concern in China over the prospect of disruptions to border trade and an influx of refugees.
In talks facilitated by Chinese envoy Deng Xi Jin, the Three Brotherhood Alliance – which launched the Operation 1027 offensive against the military – agreed to “a ceasefire without advancing further”, said the TNLA leader, who did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the situation. conversations, he told the Reuters news agency.
“On the part (of the alliance), the agreement is to refrain from offensive attacks against enemy camps or cities. From the military side, the agreement is not to engage in attacks through airstrikes, bombings or heavy weapons.”
The other two groups in the alliance are the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Arakan Army (AA).
Beijing had also said last month that the sides had agreed to a temporary truce and to maintain dialogue.
However, fighting continued in northern Shan state and other regions of the country, with rebels taking control of a key commercial town, Laukkai, on the border with China last week.
The United Nations says it fears thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting and some have fled across the border into China.
Myanmar has been plunged into crisis after the military overthrew the government of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Within months, the deadly military crackdown on non-violent protests had sparked an armed uprising that has since then it has grown to an unprecedented scale.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which has been monitoring the crackdown, more than 25,730 people have been arrested for opposing the coup and almost 20,000 remain detained.
