Myanmar urged to strive for cease-fire

Beijing on Tuesday urged Myanmar's government and ethnic Kachin forces to live up to agreements reached on Monday in China, adding that China will continue to play a constructive role in peace talks.

The meeting - held in the Chinese border city of Ruili under China's coordination and arrangement - was the first direct contact between the two sides since tension escalated again recently, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular news conference.

Three previous rounds of talks, also in Ruili, after a 17-year cease-fire broke down in June 2011 saw little progress.