BEIJING, Dec 5 (AFP) - China signed a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar Sunday to set up a mechanism to manage border affairs, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
It is the second such accord on border affairs after similar talks mechanisms agreed with Russia and Mongolia, it said in a dispatch from Yangon.
The memorandum signed by General Ge Zhenfeng, deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and General Thura Shwe Mann, chief of general staff of Myanmar seeks to strengthen cooperation regarding the 2,200-kilometre (1,360-mile) long border.
The accord, "will enhance combating of transnational crimes such as smuggling and drug trafficking in the border areas", Xinhua said.
According to China, most of the heroin smuggled into the country comes from Myanmar. Chinese authorities mounted a campaign in the summer to combat drug addiction, which is also partly blamed for the growing HIV/AIDS problem in the world's most populated country.
Both sides of the border are mountainous regions sparsely populated by ethnic minorities.
Since 1989, China has been one of the main backers of Myanmar's military dictatorship. Beijing has close military ties with Yangon, which has offered it a sea access to the Indian ocean.
Burgeoning bilateral trade was worth more than a billion dollars in 2003, according to Yangon's figures. China buys much wood and hydrocarbons to fuel its runaway growth.
In October, the China National Oil Offshore Oil Corp signed a joint exploration contract with the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.
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