A major ethnic rebel group and Myanmar's military government have signed a ceasefire agreement mediated by China, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
The ceasefire between the military and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), which has seized large tracts of territory along the border with China, came into effect on Saturday.
A previous peace deal, struck last year, wasn't honoured by either side.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a daily briefing in Beijing that the deal was brokered in the middle of this month.
"We hope that all parties will maintain the momentum of ceasefire and peace talks, earnestly implement existing common understandings, take the initiative in de-escalating the situation on the ground, and further negotiate and settle relevant issues through dialogue," Ms Mao said.
She added that China stood ready to actively promote talks and provide support for the peace process in northern Myanmar.
She did not disclose details and Myanmar's military government did not immediately comment on the ceasefire.
China is the most important foreign ally of Myanmar's military rulers, who took power after ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
The takeover led to nationwide peaceful protests that escalated into civil war.
Beijing has major geopolitical and economic interests in Myanmar and is deeply concerned about instability along the border.
The MNDAA, which is made up of the ethnic Chinese Kokang minority, last year announced a unilateral ceasefire in its conflict with the military and called for a dialogue under Chinese auspices.
[map]The group is a member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance that launched a surprise offensive along the border with China in October 2023.
China originally appeared to give tacit support to the offensive when it seemed to aid its goal of eradicating illegal gambling and internet scam operations organised by ethnic Chinese gangsters in north-eastern Myanmar.
But the offensive also weakened the Myanmar army's grip in other parts of the country.
Peace in Myanmar a long way off
Myanmar expert at UK-based think-tank Chatham House, Bill Hayton, said China's involvement in the deal said a lot about its goals.
"China's biggest fear in Myanmar is the fragmentation of the state," Dr Hayton said.
"While China used the Three Brotherhood army for its own purposes earlier, it's now worried that they're getting too successful and basically telling them to stop trying to overthrow the junta and just kind of stay in their lane, as it were."
The ethnic rebels have been fighting for decades for greater autonomy from Myanmar's central government and are loosely allied with the People's Defense Force, the pro-democracy armed resistance formed after the army's 2021 takeover.
In January last year, Beijing used its close ties with both the military and the Three Brotherhood groups to negotiate a ceasefire in northern Shan state, which lasted for five months until the ethnic alliance went back on the offensive in June, accusing the military of violating the ceasefire.
China showed its displeasure with the new rebel attacks by shutting down border crossings, cutting electricity to Myanmar towns and taking other measures to end the fighting.
Dr Hayton said China was serious about seeing a ceasefire, pointing to local reports that suggested that China had detained the head of the MNDAA, Peng Daxun, with his whereabouts apparently still unknown.
"China seems concerned to stop the disintegration of the [Myanmar] state and stop the instability on its border, but isn't prepared to commit resources to actually imposing some kind of national ceasefire," he said.
"Frankly, nobody else is sufficiently interested or committed or has the resources to do so either.
"The other members of ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] seem to be sitting on their hands even as the instability, the migration, the abuse, the scam centres, all the rest of it, running on the borders of Laos and Thailand, get worse and worse."
Myanmar researcher Kim Jolliffe said the military junta retained significant control nationwide, despite suffering setbacks against resistance movements in several regions.
"What the junta has that no other actor has is the ability to be a major player in every state and region," he said.
Other armed groups may hold greater control in their respective areas, but on a national level, the junta is still recognised by neighbouring countries as the sovereign power, Mr Jolliffe told the ABC.
He noted it would be important to observe how ethnic armed groups along the Chinese border used their influence to renegotiate trade agreements with China.
While Beijing has been involved in facilitating ceasefire talks along its border, it has not yet engaged with other areas now controlled by armed groups, such as the Arakan Army, which dominates much of Rakhine State in western Myanmar.
China has reopened its border gates linking with the areas controlled by the MNDAA and the United Wa State Army, another powerful rebel group in eastern Shan state, according to local media.
AP/ABC
