YANGON - MYANMAR'S Prime Minister Thein Sein will visit China for two regional economic summits, state media said on Friday, looking to extend ties with its closest ally.

The junta-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said Mr Thein Sein would attend the meetings between China and its neighbours in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) later this month.

Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since 1962, is under sanctions by the United States and Europe because of its human rights record and long-running detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

But the impact of the sanctions has been weakened as neighbours such as China spend billions of dollars on Myanmar's vast natural resources including natural gas, timber and precious stones.

China is particularly close to Myanmar, and has in the past vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions against its isolated neighbour. -- AFP