China welcomes Myanmar's efforts to alleviate situation in Rakhine

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China welcomes the measures taken by Myanmar's government to alleviate the situation in Rakhine state. Wang made the comments in New York on Thursday on during a meeting on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly with Myanmar officials, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. More than 400,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled from Rakhine across the border to Bangladesh following a counter-insurgency offensive by Myanmar's army in the wake of militant attacks on security forces. U.N. officials have described Myanmar's strategy as "ethnic cleansing". (Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)