Beijing, June 11 (IANS): Chinese President Xi Jinping met with a delegation from Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD), headed by NLD chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi, on Thursday afternoon at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

"China and Myanmar are close, friendly neighbours," said the Chinese president, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

The traditional friendship between China and Myanmar has not changed for 65 years, since the establishment of diplomatic relations, and practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results, said Xi.

"(China and Myanmar) have become a community of common interests and common destiny sharing weal and woe," Xi said.

He proposed that the two sides continue to work together, and honour the bilateral friendship and cooperation.

"China always looks at the China-Myanmar relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective," Xi said.

"We hope and believe that the Myanmar side will also maintain a consistent stance on China-Myanmar relationship and be committed to advancing friendly ties, no matter how its domestic situation changes," said the president.

At the invitation of the CPC, Suu Kyi's first visit to China runs Wednesday through Sunday.