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Beijing: China should not fear working with other countries to put pressure on "faltering states", Britain's Foreign Minister said on Friday in an indirect plea for Beijing to do more with countries such as Sudan and Myanmar.
Miliband, speaking at the tailend of a trip to Hong Kong and China, said it was in everyone's interest to deal with these countries, lest they destabilise their neighbours.
China traditionally avoids supporting international sanctions, saying it prefers dialogue and does not wish to interfere in the "internal affairs" of other countries.
"I believe it is in all our interests to address the poor governance that can give birth to conflict and instability," Foreign Minister David Miliband told students at Peking University.
"When the incentives of global engagement do not work, there will be cases for applying pressure," he added.
"Sometimes, sovereign nations must be prepared to intervene together where they see a risk to regional stability and where a state is unable or unwilling to address the problem itself."
Doing so could also help hold back protectionist sentiment against China in Europe and other parts of the world, he said.
"The more our publics see China using its growing influence around the world to pursue vital shared interests, from African development and Korean denuclearisation to low carbon growth, the more greater will be public support for increased market opening," Miliband added.
A country he suggested China could help with was Myanmar, whose military violently put down pro-democracy protests late last year.
"Burma is on your border. You know it well," Miliband said, without specifically calling on China to do more, and outlining Britain's view that Myanmar's military government is "brutal" and must release Nobel laureate opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
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