Beijing, February 7:

China will sign economic and trade agreements with Myanmar when the prime minister of its military government visits Beijing next week, the Chinese foreign ministry announced today.

Prime Minister General Soe Win is to visit China on February 14-18, foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan said. The two sides will “sign some cooperation documents in the field of economy and trade and other fields,” Kong said. He didn’t give any details of the agreements. China is a key diplomatic and economic partner for Myanmar’s isolated military leadership.

The US and international aid groups have criticised Myanmar for lack of pro-gress toward democracy and improved human righ-ts and have called on its tra-ding partners to stop doing business with the junta. As-ked about human rights co-ncerns, Kong said it was an ‘internal affair of Myanmar.’