China pledges Burma aid

President Jiang Zemin says China will offer Burma $200m in preferential loans to help its economic development.

He made the statement during a visit to Beijing by the Burmese leader, General Than Shwe.

Mr Jiang said he hoped Burma would continue to improve its environment for Chinese investment.

A number of agreements on cooperation in trade, health and sport were signed on the first day of General Than Shwe's six-day visit.

China is Burma's closest ally since the military coup there in 1988; it already supplies most of Burma's military hardware, and is its third-largest trading partner.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service