China said on Monday that it hopes U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Burma will encourage “peace, stability and development” in East Asia.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the visit was a bilateral affair between the U.S. and Burma, but China hopes that the historic event would benefit the region as a whole. Mr. Obama is the first serving U.S. president to visit the country.

Observers have said that Beijing has been worried that U.S. engagement with Burma could harm China's relationship with the former rogue state.

But Hua said China is fully confident in the relationship between Beijing and Burma.