China wants to work closely with Maldives govt: Foreign Office

In its first comments on the Maldives' political crisis, China today said it would like to work closely with the government in Male and push for steady and smooth development of bilateral ties.

By PTI | Updated: Feb 13, 2012, 05.22 PM IST

Beijing: In its first comments on the Maldives' political crisis, China today said it would like to work closely with the government in Male and push for steady and smooth development of bilateral ties.

Nearly a week after Mohammed Nasheed stepped down as President and his deputy Mohammed Waheed Hassan took over, the Chinese Foreign Ministry hoped the country would achieve national stability soon.

"We respect the independent choice of its (Maldives') people and sincerely hope that the country can realise national stability, social harmony and economic development at an early date," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told a media briefing here.

He was replying to a question on the tense situation prevailing in Maldives and allegation by Nasheed that he was forced to resign.

"Based on the five principles of peaceful coexistence, China would like to work closely with the Maldives government and push for steady, sound and smooth development of bilateral relations," Liu said.

China, in recent years, has stepped up its engagement with the strategic Indian Ocean island state opening its Embassy in Male.

China has also become a significant contributor of Maldives economy as large numbers of Chinese tourists visited the islands in the recent years.

The number of tourists to Maldives has grown over 56 per cent, surpassing the tourists from the west to the largely tourism dependent country.

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