WASHINGTON - Reports of Chinese citizens trafficked into scam centers along the Thai-Myanmar border are prompting renewed questions about Beijings

China hopes that Thailand and Myanmar will crack down on cross-border telecom fraud with strong measures and never allow criminals to go unpunished, a Chinese foreign ministry official has said.

By Larissa Liao, Kevin Krolicki and Poppy McPherson BEIJING/BANGKOK (Reuters) - The abduction and cross-border rescue had all the makings of the kind of action script struggling Chinese actor Wang Xing had hoped to land – only not as a reality star.

China says it has brokered a ceasefire between Myanmar’s military government and a major ethnic rebel group in the country’s northeast.

A video of Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been shared in Chinese-language social media posts that claim it shows Paetongtarn saying she is ready to rescue Chinese citizens from Myanmar if Beijing gives the order.

China has scored a major diplomatic victory in Myanmar by helping the conclusion of a truce between the ruling military junta and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance army (MNDAA) in the provinces bordering China.

The agreement between the military and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army came after months of Chinese pressure to return to political dialogue.

Beijing reportedly reached an agreement with the two Southeast Asian countries to eliminate the compounds where thousands of Chinese nationals are detained. China recently also announced a ceasefire b

The Myanmar military and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) signed a formal agreement for a ceasefire that began on Saturday, China's foreign ministry said, halting fighting near the border of both countries.

Officials from China, Myanmar, Thailand reached consensus on eradicating telecommunication fraud centres in Myanmar on Tuesday during a meeting in the Chinese city of Kunming, said China's national broadcaster.

Southeast Asian nations told Myanmar's military government on Sunday its plan to hold an election amid an escalating civil war should not be its priority, urging the junta to start dialogue and end hostilities immediately.

"The military is in a state of decline; it is weak and shrinking. The military has seen a wave of desertions, defeats, low morale and loss of dignity."